


Sea of Dreams

by SenjuMizusaya



Category: Naruto
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Character Development, Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto)-centric, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Few Things Get Fixed Though, Friendship, Haruno Sakura-centric, Past SasuSaku, Politics, Pre-Naruto Canon Era, Progressively Dark, Romance, Sex, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Strong Haruno Sakura, Time Travel Fix-It, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2018-10-07 22:49:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10371513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SenjuMizusaya/pseuds/SenjuMizusaya
Summary: Young Haruno Sakura finds herself with memories she has yet to live through, and is determined to change the future of the nations for the better.But dreams are not always caught, and as she once said, "I've always considered myself to be a true ninja...but those were just empty words, because Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun were always in the lead! But now it's my turn to take the lead, and all of you can watch me from the background!"However, taking the lead has a tendency to result in unexpected circumstances, and not all are for the better.





	1. Visioned Light

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Naruto, nor any of its characters. The story will loosely, VERY loosely, follow the original storyline to some extent.  
> Any resemblance to real-life characters are purely coincidental.  
> A story about Sakura reborn! (Reference intended.) Gradually darkens, rated M for reasons, and contains twists. Black Zetsu is blamed for everything; if you like him this isn't your ideal story...

**_"""Throw an old line out to the sea, to see if I can catch a dream"""_  -Panic! At the Disco**

* * *

Soft pink tresses, dark sakura in color and thick of texture, framed a fair face like a halo of cherry blossoms. A last breath was taken, sudden and not quite sharp, creases around closed eyes smoothening as though they were but crinkles in a bedsheet. A last wish fulfilled. A new hope to be accomplished. 

* * *

Haruno Sakura stared up at the bland white roof of her large room, curtains drawn firm and guardian her room in darkness. The seven years old was impatiently waiting for sleep to come to her and lull her away from her reality, because when she would wake up, she'd be greeted by the smiling faces of her parents and a multitude of presents. She knew she would adore the presents -she always did, if she wished for something she usually always got it- but both her parents' undivided attention, _affection_ , was what she looked forwards to most. 

Her eight birthday. One month since starting the Konohagakure Ninja Academy. Most knew it as _the Academy_ , however. And it was precisely that reason that had led to a permanent fight with her parents. They didn't like ninja -bad business, they had both agreed- but Sakura didn't want to listen to them saying all sorts of things about the persons who could be jumping over their very house. She didn't like arguing with Mebuki and Kizashi, but this time she'd hold her ground. She had always wanted them to be happy; always smiled and sat properly like her mother wanted her to, learned how to read and write because her father wanted her to. This time, she had decided with something almost like conviction when hiding salty tears in her plush pillows, they'd have to let _her_ be happy. She just wanted to be something more, someone worthy of noticing. A ninja. A kunoichi. And despite being bullied for her wide forehead -something she would never dare to tell her parents- quitting was not an option. Just this once, she wouldn't give up. Just this once, she wouldn't fail herself.

And with that in mind, she fell asleep.

* * *

Teal eyes specked with emerald shot open, a soundless scream burnung in the back of her throat like molten iron as she sat up straight.

_-a blonde ponytail flipped over one shoulder, icy eyes glittering teasingly - a large sword clattering to the ground of a bridge enveloped in mist, the body of a young child crumpling to the floor - messy sunshine hair tousled by the wind as azure eyes promised mischief - looming shadows of blindly grasping trees, a snake run amok - an arena filled with people with a waterfall of sand and a hand crackling with lightning - onyx eyes bleeding to a vivid scarlet with a single tomoe swirling, speaking "Thank you, Sakura" - a kid clad in a bright orange jumpsuit stained crimson red, barely breathing, a heart sinking below her feet - a smooth hand encased in green chakra over a fish - laughter ringing through the air, a warm welcome back - an explosion and a puppet dripping poison, a thousand rocks raining from the sky - ripple patterned eyes reflecting the sun, a flattening of memories and life - rows and rows of wounded and dying, nobody to help - a shining moon fading into crimson, combusting into bright light - a woman floating in the air with white hair spilling behind her, lavender eyes - a rising sun, moving people -_

Memories, so many images and voices and smells, rushed through her mind like an unstoppable avalanche from northern countries she had only heard tales of. And suddenly, Sakura found herself fifty years wiser, with a migraine, and tears streaming down her blotchy face. She shook her pink locks, stifling another anguished scream as her head pounded and rang. Memories blurred together with her own, clashing realities melting into one, knowledge burning naivety, chakra coursing through her system.

 _'It's all right '_ a soothing voice in her head murmured, _'it's all going to be okay.'_

Sakura clutched her head. It wasn't _her_ voice, it wasn't Inner, it was Haruno Sakura. But _she_ was Sakura, and not whoever was messing with her mind at the moment.

'Get out of my head, you're not real!' she furiously thought back, eyes narrowing into a glower as another pang of aching pain erupted at the back of her young head, swirling  and whirling and everything and nothing, choking her like a rag to be wrung. 

 _'I'm real, I'm you.'_ The voice stated matter-of-factly, and Sakura sobbed, leaning her head against the cooling wall. _'We're the same person, you and I.'_

Sakura didn't want to hear it. She had always had a voice in her head, that though personality she secretly aspired to be but did not have the guts to realize, but this was not that voice. This voice was foreign and -despite the memories tumbling through her head like a broken record, telling her this was her future self- she refused to acknowledge it.

It was just another dream. Another horrible dream.

'Go away, you make me feel bad,' she hissed back to it, not an audible sound leaving her lips.

 _'I can't go away, we're the same person,'_ the calm voice persuaded silkily, but Sakura didn't want to be swayed, reminding herself of the unmovable, unshakeable qualities of the steadfast Doton element her sensei had talked about. She'd be like that, she had to be.

'You make me feel weird, you're bad.'

In the end, Haruno Sakura refused to acknowledge the voice and abruptly disappeared under her blankets, the comforting warmth wrapped around her like a protective cocoon. She refused to reply when it told her the headache was caused by new memories being stored, that the ache in her muscles was her chakra coils adapting to the ones she would have in the future, but now developed prematurely. Ignored the voice and didn't answer when it told her she could make better decisions this time, that this time around, _she_ could be the one to take the lead.

Before all, Haruno Sakura refused to acknowledge the small smile that had played on her lips at the thought of being the one to be looked up to, and not be the one to look up.

* * *

It took her a total of three days before she dared to go back to the Academy. Three days of sorting out the memories and staring down at her hands, seeing blood staining them, feeling it, blinking and realizing it wasn't there, subconsciously searching for the marring scars of nicks dusting her fingers like a constellation from shuriken and kunai practice. Of smiling uncontrollably when seeing a familiar -albeit younger- face pass by. Of crying when realizing some familiar faces would fade into the realm of the dead in the future. Of mending two persons into one.

The rosette walked down the street, correcting the red ribbon in her hair. Part of her missed the assuring metal weighing against her scalp, another felt lighter than ever. _This was her life._ And with that, she promptly rung the bell to Yamanaka Ino's residence. It would be a full year until Ino and she would have their fall out, and Sakura was determined not to let that happen. It had weighed down on her too much, Ino was precious to her. Just like Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, Tenten- _Naruto_. Naruto, who was currently going through hell while she had stayed at home and plotted her future. Something inside her squirmed, broken, another hissed, solidified.

Ino, smiling brightly with a healthy flush and familiarly glittering eyes, almost ripped the door of its hinges when she opened it. Sakura felt a twinge of hurt flash through her. Those bright eyes hadn't seen war yet, those icy pools hadn't seen their friends and family draw their last breaths. Sakura had.

Ino threw her pale, slender arms around the green eyed girl with a squeal, "School isn't as fun if you're not there, Sakura-chan!" And the shorter girl smiled tenderly and hugged the platinum blonde back.

"I wasn't feeling too well, I hope I didn't miss much," Sakura worriedly told her best friend, who giggled lightly and told her she was such a worry wart, she'd get wrinkles if she continued like that. Sakura laughed, smoothening out her pale green tunic as they parted. Her gray sandals weren't as comfortable as she remembered them to be, but she was used to the supportive comfort of ninja sandals. She'd have to buy new ones.

Ino yelled a hasty 'goodbye' behind her before slamming the door shut and heading towards school with her best friend, a skip to her step. Sakura felt an odd sense of nostalgia wash over her, appreciating the normality and mundane sounds of Konohagakure in a peaceful time. The chirping of birds, the rustle of verdant canopies, peals of laughter, yells of merchants trying to sell their goods, hustle of the money down the street, the warmth of the sun against her skin. Sakura felt content. This is what she fought for, what she protected. This was the core of the tree.

Their walk to the Academy proceeded in an uncommon silence between them, but it was comfortable enough. Sakura saw Kiba, clad in a messy jumper a wrinkled pants, being brought to the Academy by fresh-Genin Hana. A considerably younger-looking and _alive_ Shiranui Genma was strolling down the street in casual clothes, senbon loosely placed between chapped lips as he appreciatively eyed the fresh pastries displayed at a bakery. Her last memories of him had been when he was a veteran, retired, and had died of a heart attack. Nausea had long since passed, but a cousin to it brushed against her stomach. 

She saw Shikamaru taking a detour towards the small hill, undoubtedly to sleep, with a pleasantly smiling Chouji trailing after him with a bag of chips in his meaty hands. Sakura didn't have any tears to fight, she had made sure she had shed them all before. So she smiled and waved when seeing Hinata waiting for someone at a corner, and giggled softly when the shy girl flushed bright red, averting lavender eyes. A cat looking suspiciously much like Tora ran across the street, closely followed by a familiar-looking Genin team that Sakura couldn't immediately identify.

 _'Life here sure is worth protecting,'_ Inner-Old-Sakura voiced in her head, and Sakura found herself bobbing her head with a sunny smile.

'I'm gonna become the best kunoichi ever,' she promised, blinking away flashes of mutilated corpses flickering through her mind. 

"What are you thinking about?" Asked Ino with a raised eyebrow, skipping along the road. Sakura sped up, her unimpressive stature moving with more ease than it had ever done before in her short life.

"Just lost in thought, can't even remember," she shrugged casually, lie slipping out like smooth honey, and Ino let out an all too familiar coo.

"Is it a boy?" The blonde interrogated childishly with a cheesy, cheeky grin stretching up her cheeks. Sakura laughed and shook her pink locks, feigning embarrassment at the idea of being caught thinking of a boy.

"No no!" She protested, fidgeting with the sea-green lining of her sleeves' cuffs. Ino's bell-like laughter rang through the air.

When arriving at the Academy, she did a double take when seeing what was undoubtedly a very young Itachi dropping Sasuke off. The young teen had shunshined away before she could gape noticeably, and Sakura was thankful for that. A mop of spiky, golden hair caught her piercingly attentive eyes, and she felt something in her stomach churn uncomfortably as the tanned boy she supposedly didn't know yet perched himself on a swing. Alone. 

There was a torrent, a hurricane of whirlwinds and maelstroms, and then peace returned. 

Ino pulled her towards a group of friends like she always did, and as usual Sakura stayed silent. She wasn't too fond of the other girls here; they gave her mean stares, and when Ino wasn't paying attention they would tell her things as well. Her forehead was to wide, she was a lost cause. Most of them had at least one parent who was a shinobi, so her lack of potential through genetics was also something they were fond of reminding her of.

But now, the knowledge that _she_ was the one who would graduate and not them made her feel the odd, misplaced urge to cackle triumphantly and deck the leader, Hayakawa Kokoro. She only let a serene, airy smile lift her lips however, as any more would be highly out of character for her. She'd play her cards right. She'd show them in silence while smiling at them. Smiling when she beat them during the sparring matches when nobody could see her face, and she's make sure nobody ever felt yes her abilities because she was a civilian born girl, _shannaro_.

She discarded those thoughts as soon as they popped up, meeting Kokoro's chamoisee gaze with more frosty bravery than she had ever dared to emit before. Her smile was deceptively curved cordial, and her viridian eyes held no trace of her usual timid fear. Ino may not have noticed the change -or likely just accepted it with a smile- but Kokoro's winning smile faltered for a brief moment when Sakura didn't avert her gaze like expected. 

"Koko-chan," started Ami, turning to her best friend with a flip of one indigo-violet pigtail that almost slapped Sakura's forehead. "I just remembered I had to give Hirokazu-sensei the homework that I forgot to give yesterday. I want to do it now, before Sasuke-kun realizes I didn't hand it in on time!" 

Sakura successfully managed not to stiffen. 'Ah, yes,' the rosette remembered, 'it was this year that some start noticing Uchiha Sasuke.' 

 _'It was this early? Cha! They just see a cute face, they don't know what love is!'_ Inner-Old-Sakura scoffed, and the rosette girl shot a hasty glance towards a distinctive Uchiha fan accompanied by raven hair, distinguishable next to a vibrantly smiling Inuzuka Kiba. 

'He is rather cute, but...' for a brief moment Sakura hesitated, memories of years spent waiting for a teen who ultimately attempted to kill her once flashing through her mind. 'I feel like I made my life revolve around him in the future.'

 _'Hmm,_ ' came the unhelpful reply, and Sakura got the feeling Inner wanted to ponder without being bothered for the time being. 

Viridian eyes hardened with inexorable determination, steel veiled by a layer of moss. 'But whatever happens, what matters is that I will be the one to protect, and not be the one protected.' 

Next to her, Ino suddenly linked her arm through Sakura's with a confident smile flirting with her mouth, and the two of the promptly left as the other three headed towards the Academy with excited giggles. "Sasuke-kun is rather cute, ne?" Ino tittered merrily, and Sakura stole another glance at what would become her husband unless she decided change the future in more ways than her own prowess. 

"He is," she admitted bashfully, but found herself disappointed when the familiar, tender feeling of love didn't wash over her at the sight of him. Perhaps it was too early? However, if her feelings for the persons she had gained memories of didn't change, then why was she suddenly feeling that familiar sibling-love when seeing Naruto's spiky tresses and azure eyes? She shook her head, denying the possibility of losing her love for Sasuke. 

'He is a bit of a jerk though,' she thought, and to her surprise she felt a wave of accusing, aggressive anger being briefly directed towards her from Inner. She heaved a sigh, turning her emerald pools to the sky. While some childhood memories seemed to carry a small, almost unnoticeable, difference to the ones Inner had supplied her with, she was adamant on fulfilling her dream. This time around, when Kakashi-sensei would ask her to introduce herself, her reply wouldn't be squealing at the sight of the brooding Uchiha Sasuke. 

* * *

 The classrooms looked just like she remembered them. The small chairs, the way the rays of golden morning-sunshine filtering through the large windows warmed them, the way the walls emitted a sense of security. She paused at her usual seat -front row, next to the large window- body almost moving on autopilot to sit down and wait for the lesson to start, but managed halt her movements.

Two rows up, three spaces towards the middle. Most spots around it were vacant. Nara Shikamaru had sunk down to the seat's left, accompanied by Chouji. Normally that seat was almost always surrounded by solitude. Sakura felt immensely grateful to the lazy genius for not blindly trusting parents' biased opinions. 

Uzumaki Naruto. Alone. Jinchuuriki. Vicious kyuubi still hateful. No Iruka yet. Solitude. _Solitude solitude solitude_. Broken smiles. Vibrant smiles. Gaara's screams. Naruto's cries. 

That was all Haruno Sakura needed to know. She turned on her heels and smothered her pale pink knee-length pants, her back straight and with enlarged reserves of chakra buzzing underneath her skin at the thought of her first step in the right direction. Ino raised an eyebrow at her sudden change of demeanor, but when seeing the expression on her normally timid friend's face she was more than eager to change seats. Yamanaka Ino may not like being bossed around, but if Sakura was growing backbone she would encourage it. 

"Who do you want to sit next to?" The Clan born demanded, all curiosity and energy, arching a quizzical silvery white eyebrow when seeing the person her friend's attention was glued to. A frown tugged on her lips and she rested a hand on her hip, a pose her mother would often strike when lecturing her. "But he's _loud_." Frankly, that had never stopped Ino from approaching anyone before, but something in her gut wasn't fond of the idea. 

Sakura raised a questioning eyebrow at her friends' statement, and Ino sighed. "Fine, it's not like he's unbearable or anything," she conceded with a casual shrug, and the rosette's features brightened into a sweet smile. 

Naruto looked up in surprise when someone sat down next to him. Normally that seat remained vacant until it was the only one left and someone was forced to sit there, and while he didn't show it such things hurt. Hurt immensely. _Unwanted_. Might as well not have existed. So why, _why_ was that seat suddenly occupied?

"Can I sit here?" Sakura smiled softly at the blond boy, who still regarded her with wary skepticism and a swath of almost hope. She was pleasantly reminded that this was before he developed a crush on her, before he fell in love, so hopefully that could be avoided this time around. Ino slumped in the seat to Sakura's other side, lifting a hand to greet Naruto. The Uzumaki in question slowly turned befuddled, as if not comprehending that someone was willingly sitting next to him. For a moment his eyes brightened impossibly with gratitude, but then a guarded shadow fell over them. Sakura's heart ached.

"Of course!" He exclaimed with a luminous, wide grin showing off rows of white teeth, but his shoulders were stiff and hunched. The emerald eyed girl resisted the impulse to hug him when the hope in his eyes become obvious to trained eyes. She didn't vocalize her reply, but amiably nodded before unpacking her bag and carefully placing her books onto her table. 

This time around, she'd make sure she helped him when he was treated unfairly. This time around, she'd be the friend he had deserved from the beginning, _shannaro_. 

* * *

It didn't take Sakura long to figure out what she first needed to help Naruto with. And the anger that coursed throughout her veins and chakra pathways was scorchingly hot, glacially cold, Hiraishin fast, because the world was just so unfair. Nobody had bothered to teach him how to read and write. 

'No wonder he had problems understanding concepts and regulations, if nobody ever cared enough to take the time and made him understand the basics. Bastards,' Sakura thought, making a mental note to make herself a schedule when coming home. She got the feeling Naruto would be a frequent name mentioned on that. She'd make sure his chances were as fair as she could make them, it was the least she could do. 

As soon as the bell had rung, Naruto shot out of the classroom like a senbon slicing through air, and Ino had gravitated towards Sachiko who was studying flowers in a book. She faintly remembered leaving Ino alone in her alternate life as well, so she didn't find any qualms in strolling down the hallways towards the library by herself. 

The young rosette headed around the corner towards the hallway leading to the library, finding it desolated as usual. The wooden floor beneath her sandals didn't creak, as Sakura knew by heart which places to step on and which to avoid. There was no dust, and she found herself absentmindedly thankful for that. A detached part of her mind wondered how many books she would be able to find on medical ninjutsu. She'd have to relearn everything now, since it would be rather odd and suspicious if she suddenly knew the most complicated operations and healings by heart. Perhaps it was good that her chakra coils had expanded significantly, since it would mean she'd have to learn how to control it at the same pace as the other Academy kids.

Battle-hardened ninja ears picked up traces of muffled giggles and breathing, a faint flicker of three familiar chakra signatures brushing at the edge of Sakura's senses, weak as they were but certainly present, something onlyba select few Genin could say. From her peripheral vision, she saw Kokoro jump out from her hiding place behind a large cupboard and flinging a piece of chalk at her.

She looked up, seeing it flying through the air with the intent of hitting her face. Her hand shot up reflexively, catching the white chalk in her fist. Kokoro's face fell, and both Ami and Ren who had taken their positions behind the brunette looked disgruntled. Sakura opened her hand as it fell back to her side, watching thoroughly crushed, marble powder float towards the floor like ringlets of snow in a storm.

"Now way, it's just a fluke," scoffed Ren, twirling an auburn curl between her fingers as a sign of what Sakura discovered was uncertainty. Merciless viridian eyes met Kokoro's. The brunette knew what Sakura's eyes always looked like; timid, emerald moons that would never dare to go against her will or hurt a fly. But these eyes were darker, these eyes knew what they were doing. But Kokoro decided that such mood changes weren't possible, and loudly vocalized her agreement with Ren; 

"As if _you'd_ be able to do something like that on purpose."

Sakura just shook her rosy locks with what she hoped was an air of aloofness, and continued walking, counting ninken in her head. As she passed them, Ami hissed; "You're such a coward, forehead. You have no future in the Academy or as a kunoichi."

The rosette didn't stop walking, but her tEsther were bared when pale rosy lips curled into an aggressive smile that threatened to evolve into a grin, and glanced over one shoulder. "When I kick you to the infirmary during spar, you'll be the one with no future." Admittedly, Sakura was failing at keeping herself in childhood-character, but Ami's incoherent spluttering that followed made it worth it.

"Oi, that's no way to act! We're the ones who are better than _you," z_ neered Kokoro, childish but so very serious about it, and this time the Haruno stopped. She turned around with a close eyed smile, feeling her chakra positively _humming_ at the agitation that enveloped her. And then Sakura ran forwards. She balled her fist a swung, made contact with her bully's pale cheek and sent the brunette girl flying into the wall with a satisfying thump. The two other girls shrieked and screamed in horror, scampering towards their unconscious friend. Sakura's smile was positively smug, and she turned on her heel with a confident, defiant click.

The library was waiting for her.


	2. Academy Jump

_**"""We have walked through the darkness of this world, that’s why we are able to see even a sliver of light."""** **-Gaara** _

* * *

 

It was not even a full week later that Haruno Sakura found herself impatiently waiting for Naruto, a large bowl of steaming food cooked by Mebuki on the granite kitchen island. Mercifully, both her parents were gone to attend a fancy-formal dinner party, leaving her with the opportunity to spend the entire evening teaching Naruto how to read more properly than his current bumbling attempts. Mebuki and Kizashi probably thought she was spending the evening with Ino, or even studious Sachiko, but Sakura didn't bother trying to figure out what they were thinking. There were more important things wrapping around in her head, brushing ideas over the forefront of her mind's eye. 

Not only would they undoubtedly chide and scold her for spending time with a kid everyone had apparently agreed was bad news, for as civilians they were not aware of his status, but she had quarreled with them again. This time the topic had been clothes -no more dresses to ninja related businesses- and they had both violently protested. She was a girl, they had told her, and girls wore dresses. Sakura had told them she was a shinobi in training, which according to them was even worse than being a kunoichi. While all the causes of the arguments were petty and relatively unimportant, the rift it caused made something in her stomach churn unpleasantly.

Currently she was clad in a red kimono shirt with white linings and sash, and a pair of light beige pants that she knew would be destroyed if she got mud stains on. Naruto didn't know that however, and part of her felt the need prove that she as more than pink hair and pretty dresses. She was Haruno Sakura, _the_ taijutsu-medical-nin, _shannaro_.

The old grandfather clock read half past five when doorbell rang, and the rosette Haruno skipped to the front door with a bright smile and opened it. "Hello, Naruto-kun!"

The blond looked up with a vibrant grin and azure eyes that were impossibly brighter than the sky behind him. The sun was beginning to set, dusting the sky in hints of apricot and pastel pink, in two or three hours it would be dark. "Hey, Sakura-chan! Eh, fancy shmancy neighborhood, dattebayo!" He blabbed, and then awkwardly scratched the back of his head. Sakura smiled bashfully, back straightening.

"Thank you, come in," she spoke, and waved her soft hand in an indication to follow her inside. Naruto hesitated for a brief moment, but as if to make up for it he then almost jumped over the threshold with buzzing excitement. She felt some of the ice around her heart, caused by observing the underhanded politics from a child's view, thawing at the sight of the blond Uzumaki.

"Have you eaten dinner yet? I still have to eat, so..." Questioned Sakura, leading the boy towards the dining room. It was an open space next to the large, full-wall window that faced the lush garden. Naruto had miraculously refrained from gaping. She decided that she'd have to make sure he ate something other than ramen, so it wouldn't matter what he told her now. Naruto was always hungry, anyway.

"You really don't have to-" Naruto started, but Sakura shattered his argument before he could fully vocalize it.

"I hope you haven't eaten anything, because Kaa-san always makes too much food for me and I can't eat it all." She lied easily and a quirked jovial grin, placing the large bowl of steaming teriyaki on the table.

His stomach grumbled, and he averted his impossibly bright blue eyes, cheeks dusted with rosy pink and an embarrassed smile curving his lips. Sakura fought a frown, 'He must be so desperate for someone to accept him. To say no to food, it's almost as if he's afraid to be a bother, which he isn't of course.'

_'We're accepting him.'_

'I know, but he needs to realize that our friendship won't crumble for the slightest thing.'

"Sit down, I'll set the table." Sakura told him with a friendly smile, refusing to take no for an answer and gently pushed him towards the chair next to the window. She had the entire evening to teach him how to read, and decidedly many more in the future. Chakra control was a must, as well. Her viridian eyes twinkled mischievously.

He carefully perched himself on the chair, gripping the sides with his suspiciously gritty hands. Sakura observed the boy for a moment. His skin was tanned, hands gritty and smudged, white T-shirt washed once too much, khaki pants worn, and his neon orange, sleeveless hoodie had fraying seams. Yet, Sakura suspected these were his better clothes.

"Actually, I think we should both wash our hands first. Hirokazu-sensei's taijutsu lesson today made our hands rather dirty," Sakura diplomatically expressed, opting against pointing out that his hands were something her mother would throw an apoplectic fit over. Her own hands were spotlessly washed and scrubbed, but she was willing to bet Naruto hadn't even showered yet. She decided that later this mild late-April evening, she'd have to take him to the garden and engage him in the game of running through the water sprinklers. She blessed the warm climate of Fire Country.

"Hai!" He agreed after a moment of scrunching his nose as he tried (and eventually succeeded) to decipher why one would wash their hands. Sakura quickly washed her hands under the tap, rinsing them with the lavender scented soap imported from the Land of Rivers. She dried her hands as Naruto shoved his hands under the stream of lukewarm water. He stiffened, glancing at her with wide, azure eyes.

"The water is warm." He stated, alarmed. "Is that normal?"

Sakura felt something inside her break. She heard something in the background snap, and for a brief moment she saw red. A pulse of chakra rippled through her, and she masked her anger with a cough to clear her throat. "Ah, yes Naruto, that is normal." She proceeded to show him how one could regulate the temperature, which he observed with wide eyes and sucked the information up like a dehydrated sponge.

She directed him towards his seat again, smiling amiably, but as soon as he was out of the kitchen she muffled a string of foul curses in her mother's spotless apron. She'd show the bastards deciding over Naruto's life. She'd show each and every teme how much he was truly worth. She'd- she'd- _she'd graduate early with him_.

The absurd idea that had haphazardly tumbled into her mind was seen with more clarity than a lonesome tree in the Suna deserts. Suddenly, Sakura had a goal to achieve. Suddenly, she knew what she'd go for. She still had approximately a year and a half before Itachi would be ordered to massacre his clan, meaning that if she managed to graduate before that it would still be allowed as early graduation became prohibited after his rampage.

 _'What about Uchiha Sasuke-kun?_ ' Inner-Old-Sakura demanded, and Sakura hesitated.

'Sasuke-kun wouldn't want to lose to Uzumaki Naruto-kun in a million years.' She understood, and cast her eyes to the ceiling. 'It's possible that if Naruto-kun graduates early, and I go with him, Sasuke-kun will have been motivated and graduates with us.'

The rosette grabbed the plates and chopsticks, walking back into the airy dining room. Naruto's eyes were glued to the perfectly cut hedges outside, the colorful flowers arrayed, the small fountain with crystalline water in a pond around it. She placed the plates and sticks on their right places before heading off to retrieve the cups and cold water.

When she told him to dig in, he might as well have pounced over the food. She smiled sadly when his undivided attention was solely on the meal, the teriyaki not tasting as good to her as it should've. "Do you like it?" She inquired with a brighter twist of her lips, and Naruto frantically nodded as he swallowed.

"It's amazing, dattebayo!"

An hour later, however, when she was poised over a book and explaining the kanjis, he found it a little less amazing. Luckily, when the warm sun had almost disappeared behind the lush greenery and the sky was colored amber and lavender, she had asked him if he wanted to go outside. He had been more than happy to comply, and happily surprised when finding that water sprinklers were hidden in the garden and that in the fading light, you didn't notice them until you had been successfully sprayed.

* * *

It was a comfortably warm, sunny day in May. The breeze brought scents of flower fragrance, the moist soil thick with sprouting greens of all kinds, and a few tufts of cotton-like clouds dusting the sky and bringing occasional refreshing shade. The half-term exams for the first years were being held at Academy Field B, a barren space with earthy ground and stubborn tufts of grass behind the educational building. 

A pink haired girl sporting a pair of ashen-tan pants and a deep scarlet, cotton quipao-styled shirt with white linings let out a determined snarl as she executed the final upper cut with unwavering conviction. Sakura's lips curled into a smug smirk as Kokoro's body was airborne for a weightless moment, and then heavily hit the ground like a sack of potatoes. 

"Haruno Sakura wins," declared the exam proctor, Umino Iruka, and the pinkette clapped her hand together, momentarily abandoning the ladylike character she had tried (and ultimately regularly failed) to keep up.

' _Again_ ,' Inner told her smugly, and Sakura nodded as she pumped her fist into the air with a bright smile. Ino cheered from the sideline, accompanied by a loudly hollering Naruto who was giving her his signature toothy grin. The rosette was relieved the two were at least on friendly terms, although hardly as close as she was with either of them. It would've been awful if her two best friends couldn't stand each other, and unfortunately Sakura knew how that felt.

Kokoro groaned, giving the until-recently pushover girl a resenting look tinged with both fear and raw disbelief. The crowd of classmates waiting for their turn winced slightly as a steady stream of crimson dripped down from the brunette's broken nose, staining the loose, wispy, pastel-pink blouse a rich red only seen on the finest satin. Sakura allowed herself a brief moment to pity the shirt, for it was truly been pretty, with the delicately embroidered white trimmings and accents. And it was precisely for that reason she didn't wear her better clothes to any business risking their demise or ruin. She gave Kokoro a short, apologetic glance to communicate that she was, in fact, not breaking Kokoro's again nose out of spite. 

A bird chirped in the protection of the lush trees, and then- "Next up, Naruto-kun versus Sasuke-kun." 

"Good luck," she smiled with hidden strain as she took the energetic blond's place next to Ino, who laughed and bounced towards the square. Her smile faded as her eyes settled on the two boys about to face of.

So far, her plan had miraculously played out well on her part. Naruto's sudden understanding of what was going on during lessons not only helped his grades, but caused a ripple effect resulting in him being more attentive now that he knew that he actually _wasn't_ a complete failure at the academical. And while Uchiha Sasuke hadn't noted the, at first subtle, changes occurring, when Uzumaki Naruto against all odds beat Inuzuka Kiba in a spar, the prestigious raven's attention was finally caught. However, at the moment itself, Sakura had felt more nostalgic than attentive when seeing the blond defeat the wild opponent despite being the obvious underdog. 

She had managed to keep her tears (of pride or not, she wasn't sure) to herself until she was in the safety of her room. 

And now, Haruno Sakura prayed to whatever was out there -Kami, Pein, Rikudo Sennin, she found herself believing at none but herself at the moment however- and watched the two rivals with the attentiveness of a hawk when Iruka gave the signal. The Uchiha watched the blue eyed boy with more wariness than she had ever seen him display so far, and it brought her smug satisfaction that she had brushed the Uzumaki's skills up for this.

"Give up, _loser_." Sasuke taunted with a shimmer in his onyx eyes, attempting to rile Naruto up -an admittedly smart move, Sakura couldn't deny it. The orange-clad boy was temperamental, easily influenced by emotion, and easier to defeat when making brash mistakes. She stifled an exasperated sigh when Naruto, as expected, charged with a battlecry at the insult. 

She was vaguely aware of the fact that Ino screeched "You better win this!", but wasn't sure if she meant Naruto or Sasuke. The raven sidestepped gracefully, but Naruto exceeded his current record of speed with a quick swipe of his leg. Sasuke nimbly jumped back, somersaulting in the air with the agility of a falcon, and landed in front of the blond with a fist balled and ready to strike. 

The blow was barely parried by an unnaturally focused-looking Naruto, and a detached part of Sakura analytically concluded that both of them were a great deal better than they had been in her alternate life in the age; especially Naruto. She successfully kept her wide-eyed expression in place, refraining form jumping up into the air with a victorious exclamation of sweet triumph. 

Murmurs of the oblivious died down when Sasuke hadn't already wiped the floor with Naruto, and Sakura saw the barest hint of a proud smile being suppressed by Iruka -when he and Naruto had suddenly decided to accept the other was something Sakura wasn't aware of, but it brought her a sense of gratitude. 

Minutes trickled by, blows and kicks being sent, parried and avoided. At one point, Sasuke had gotten a bruising hit to his left ribs, but he hadn't let Naruto live his brief victory down before he retaliated with a swift punch to the blond's face that ended with a sickening 'crunch' and blood smearing across knuckles, faces and clothes. Naruto growled, Sasuke sneered. 

Ino yelled, Ami winced, and Sakura clasped her hands together to hide not only her worry, but also personal, pressuring nervousness to see if her haphazard idea _that she hadn't really been completely serious about_ would work out. She had noticed the rising tension in the Uchiha Clan, and was painfully aware of how time shortened with each and every second passing, each murmur and glance shared, every precious breath taken. 

The match ended without victor, as the two of them had, after ten minutes of astounding, spectacularly almost Genin-level, fight that left the other two proctors, Hirokazu and Kaia, with contemplative looks on their faces and bewildered furrows between their brows. Sasuke and Naruto had tackled each other simultaneously, meeting mid-air, and both had fallen down outside the ring. 

"No winner," Iruka called off. The two rivals both looked agitated and downcast at the announcement, but Sakura couldn't shake the feeling that it was actually a victory for the three of them. 

 _'Cha! Triumph is **sweet**!'_ Inner-Old-Sakura gloated, and Sakura hummed in agreement before scampering towards Naruto who staggered up to his feet. "You did really well!" She grinned appraisingly at him, and his previously rather glum and irate look melted like snow for the sun. 

"A-arigatou, Sa-Sakura-chan!" He stuttered, unable to keep a wide, vibrant grin from stretching across his tanned features. 

* * *

Haruno Mebuki slammed the fancy, extravagantly decorated, cherry-wood jewelry box onto the counter with finality. Her forest green eyes positively flashed with malicious fury, creases around her generous mouth deepening as she scowled wickedly; "What on earth do you _mean_ , Sakura-chan? Only five  _months_ left at the Academy, surely you are jesting! Five _years_ , girl, you told me you had five  _years_ left only a few months ago!" 

Were she still the same person as three months ago, Sakura would've cowered and apologized profusely at that outburst, proceeding to then correct whatever mistake she made to the best of her abilities. 

 _'Were you still that same person, this wouldn't have happened at all!'_ Inner supplied, voice dripping with elation and pride. 

'No way I'm backing out now, _shannaro_!' 

"You heard me correctly, Kaa-san," she replied coolly with a cordial, calloused hands clasped behind her back, smiling when steady, viridian eyes met her mother's darker ones. "As my skills have proven to be great enough, I'm being placed in the graduating class from this day on. Graduation is in exactly five months." 

Mebuki looked like a fish out of water, gaping for air. "But you're just _child,_ they cannot send such young girls out on dangerous missions!" She protested feverishly, frantically looking around as if hoping for the answer to her latest problem -that until recently had been what type of nail polish would sell best in Takigakure- would be written on the wall. Sakura figured that had that truly happened, scrubbing the ink off would've become a problem as well. 

"I'm not alone, two of my classmates will be going with me to graduating class," the rosette Haruno hesitantly added, but then her eyes hardened again as the corners of her lips curled slyly, a feat that her mother didn't notice. "Are you doubting at the system of Konoha, Kaa-san? Do you believe Sandaime-sama, the Chuunin proctors, and the experienced Jounin are _all_ mistaken and are currently misjudging me _despite_ years and years of experience only gathered form practice? If that's the case, feel free to discuss it with them." Naturally, Sakura knew that questioning them in public would be social suicide and bad business as well, but she was aware that it was not necessary for her to add that. 

Mebuki averted her gaze, and Sakura smiled. "I appreciate your concern. Feel assured that we are only given missions were are capable of doing." 

Obviously, Sakura didn't feel the need to tell her the fine print, or details about mistaken ranks caused by faulty-information. The busty woman have a deep, defeated sigh. The daughter almost threw her hands up in the air at the win, and left the ornate room with a wild smile playing on her rosy lips. 

* * *

 Uzumaki Naruto found himself pleasantly surprised when Iruka delivered the news, both sensei and student teary eyed. And so, when he sunk down into his new seat on the third row two seats from the window, he couldn't keep a goofy smile from his face. He knew the new sensei, Midori, hated him -the foul glares made it rather obvious. He knew that the entire class made jeering faces when seeing him, whispers fluctuating throughout the room. But he didn't care. He didn't care because he was a step closer to becoming Hokage. Because his best friend and rival were there with him. Because just this morning, some snotty nosed kid had declared him his boss, rival and Nii-chan. Because for once, life was looking up. 

Sakura, clad in her signature outfit consisting of the quipao-shirt and dark-tan pants, sat down to his right, and on the remaining seat to his left next to the window... He couldn't say he was thrilled when Sasuke had begrudgingly perched himself there, but part of him was relieved as well. 

"Ohayo, Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun," smiled Sakura with an excited shine in her teal eyes, inwardly squealing. 'This is actually happening, I'm so glad!' 

_'We're kicking ass, cha!'_

"Morning!"

"Hn." 

Years of expertise and practice told Sakura that the raven was in a good mood. Naruto scowled, glaring at the pale Uchiha. "That's not even a word, dattebayo!"

"Hn, _loser_." Sasuke said with the barest hint of a smirk gracing his pale lips.

The blond slammed his balled fist down onto the table, much like Mebuki had slammed her red box on the counter. "You keep makin' that stupid sound, but it's absolutely meaningless-" 

" _Uzumaki_ , is there a problem?" Midori cut in with glacial eyes the color of peaches. She sported curls the same shade as mint ice-cream, ending below her ears that were adorned by amber stones. 

Naruto stiffened in his seat, eyes blazing and mouth open to blabber a series of loud explanations and insults that would fall to deaf ears, but stopped when Sakura kicked him under the table. He stilled; "Not at all, sensei. Just catching up with my buddies." 

"Loudly, at that," Midori almost snarled, but managed to keep a regal expression. "The hallway is waiting for you, Uzumaki, leave if you cannot behave." 

If Sasuke was shocked at Naruto's unfair treatment, he didn't show any signs of it. Sakura gritted her teeth, directing her venomous glare to the table. Naruto looked ready to pummel the teacher at the display, but almost instantly turned crestfallen when realizing how his graduation-chances slimmed even further with a teacher like this. And then -Sakura blessed him even more than the climate- he had one of his rare, golden, genius moments. 

"But the bell hasn't rung yet, sensei. There is no reason to send me out if the break hasn't ended yet," he blurted out with an adorably confused expression on his face, trying to remember any other cause of bad behavior on his part. Midori regarded the blond for another moment, expertly masking her surprise at Naruto's uncharacteristically perceptive observation. 

Before the Chuunin woman could answer, the bell rung as if to validate his point and Sakura almost laughed out loud. With a forced, minuscule, brief upward-tilt of her lips, the kunoichi sensei gracefully stalked back to her desk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everybody for reading this! It means so much to me that some even take the time to leave comments, kudos and bookmarks! 
> 
> I'm mainly going to focus on the plot, but as I'm a hopeless romanic you may expect romance and stuff like that as well^^ I apologize for those of you who are hoping for SasuSaku; the only reason I've written that in the relationship category is because there will be references to her past (future?) alternate self. Kakashi is definitely going to be the main love interest, but I've always thought it's little unnatural to only like a single person your entire life, so... 
> 
> Take care, everyone^^


	3. Reunion of Team Seven

**"""There probably is no purpose in life, but if you linger a while longer in this world, you might discover something of value in it."""** _**-Orochimaru** _

* * *

 A polished, bodylength mirror with an extravagantly decorated bronze frame leaned against a solid wall, a cherry wood writingdesk next to it. A reflection met her counterpart's eyes.

Rosy, silky tresses of hair was chopped short to skim a fair jawline, deep viridian eyes were specked with emerald and jade. A polite smile had twisted soft lips upwards, but the child's green eyes remained detached and unaffected. The metal of the forehead protector rested securely against her scalp, the familiar weight causing a sense of comfort.

Dark, ashen-tan ninja pants ended just below her knees, tucked into knee-high, open-toed boots reminiscent of the ones she had worn (would wear?) in Chuunin-hood. A crimson, sleeveless quipao-styled shirt with white linings and a circular design on the back fitted her like a glove. Lean muscles rippled underneath her pale skin as she fastened the kunai holster to her leg, and the ninja pouch to the black belt at her hip.  

She knew now that miracles happened. She hadn't know that before. Miracles were lovely things that brought her both sunny happiness and a shadow of foreboding fear. She had graduated together with Sasuke and Naruto. And it made her suspicious, for surely fate had something in store for her; she had quickly learned that the good never lasted, especially when it came to a ninja's fickle life.

She was fairly certain that she would be placed in the same team as her two other classmates, as they were the youngest ones. Seeing it from a kindhearted point of view, it would be good to keep the ones the same age in the same group. On the other hand, the more pragmatic have, it would also be good decision since their chakra coils were still developing at the speed of eight (almost nine) year olds', they were of a smaller stature, _and_ possessed the impeccable ability to function properly together despite being as dysfunctional as it could become.

The only thing that brought her down was the possibility that Hatake Kakashi might not be their Jounin sensei. Kakashi was Kakashi-sensei, Bakashi, Rokudaime Hokage -he was Hatake Kakashi and would remain Hatake Kakashi-her-sensei. And it made Sakura grit her teeth and fight tears, knowing that chances of them being Kakashi's Team Seven again were as slim as her mother's favorite needle being found.

She twirled once, all agility and grace, smile widening and eyes finally shining genuinely. She clicked her heels and mock saluted her reflection, rolled her shoulders and her back popped satisfyingly. With a final glance at her counterpart, she headed downstairs with a barely controlled skip to her steps.

"Good morning, Tou-san, Kaa-san," the rosette greeted, eyes dulling and amiable smile forcefully staying intact with more practiced ease than it should've.

"I hope you have slept well?" Kizashi glanced over his newspaper with a smile tiptoeing across his lips. Sometimes, Sakura was amazed how much like politics this household functioned as. Dancing around truths, hiding lies, dominating the others while pretending to do nothing, smiling politely while hiding insults in complicated sentences. Naruto should've received his political training at this house, Sakura mused.

"Oh, very well, thank you. I'm as ready as one can be for my life as a Genin. Did you sleep well?" She inquired, nodding at her mother who appeared at he doorway with a freshly baked assembly of bake goods in a small woven basket that once had belonged to her great-grandma. _Sentimental value_ , Mebuki used to say. _Bullshit_ , Sakura used to think.

He cleared his throat, creases deepening fractionally at her inconspicuously smug reminder. "I'm well rested." _Translation: I did not sleep well but am not about to collapse._ Sakura hid a derisive snort.

 _'I don't remember our family being quite this evasive and slippery,'_ Inner commented with an acerbic tone.

'I don't remember being quite this experienced and strong in our other family,' retorted Sakura, taking a bite from a warm bun. She hid a content smile at the heavenly flavors, opting to take a sip from her tea. The cup was white porcelain, adorned with painted sakura flowers, Mebuki's favorite set. Perhaps it was her mother's way of trying one last time to drag her back into the civilian life, perhaps it was a way of showing that no matter what, she was still Sakura. 

And Haruno Sakura found, decidedly misplaced according to her, that she couldn't give two shites in a bag about Mebuki's opinion about her life. 

* * *

The emerald-eyed shifted in her seat with a straight back, neatly crossing one ankle over the other. Kunoichi or not, she knew how to look ladylike. Naruto was dozing off next to her, smiling contentedly and with the sun's golden rays basking him in its warming glow. Sasuke sat to her other side, fingers laced together lips adorned by a small but actual _smile_. Sakura forced herself not to look awestruck; the Uchiha massacre had yet to happen, and she was certain her heart would throb painfully when seeing his childish smile would be wiped away with his parents. 

And then, Midori clapped her slender hands together, peach eyes sharp, and drew the attention of the entire class. "Once again, congratulations to everybody here who has passed. You will be placed in three-man squads, each with a Jounin-sensei to guide you through Genin hood." She glanced down at the list on her desk, daintily fishing it up and reading; "Team One..." 

Sakura glanced around her. At the back, a vaguely familiar Nara-looking boy with the typical dark hair in a ponytail and narrow eyes was staring out of the window, Nara Shiyori she recalled. Smart, but not Shikamaru smart, more of a street smart. Laid back, but not quite lazy. Next to him sat Uchiha Izumi, a very kind girl especially for an Uchiha, who was staring out of he window with a silly grin that Sakura decided suited her well. 

The sky was streaked with scattered, hazy clouds that did little to hide the bright blue sky, and despite the gentle October breezes filtering through the reddish, orange and yellowing leaves, it was still warm enough to scamper around with short sleeves and, if pushing it a little, shorts. Winters in Konoha rarely got snow or went below freezing point, only lasting about a month or six weeks at most, unlike in the Land of Water where freezing winters lasted for four or even five months (although, their summers were rather temperate), or Sunagakure where winters didn't visit at all (their summers were something Sakura despised). 

"...Team Seven, Haruno Sakura-" Midori called, and the rosette Haruno sat up straighter with a pounding heart and diplomatically folded expression, eyes hardening as she gripped the fabric of her pants under the table. 

"...Uzumaki Naruto-" The blond, previously poised over his table with gritted teeth, joyously leapt into the air with a pumped fist. Sakura almost sagged with relief; being with Naruto means that ultimately, Sasuke would be in their team as well. Probably. Hopefully. 

"Yatta, dattebayo!" 

"...and Uchiha Sasuke." The raven looked up, squaring his shoulders and looking as smug as a peacock. As if he had been the one to accomplish it all. Naruto slumped back into his seat.

 _'We were the one to plan this all, cha! We're awesome!'_ Inner crowed, and Sakura imagined that had the voice had a physical body, it must've made a victory dance. 

* * *

The clock chimed once. Her supposedly-unknown sensei hadn't arrived within the same hour as the other Jounin, and that made Naruto groan loudly and Sasuke glare at his hands. Sakura felt an odd tingle in her stomach, rising up to her throat and tickling like feathers. _She was going to laugh_. It almost made her panic; suddenly bursting out in mad, gleeful cackles was not something she would do. Not now, nor ever, she decided abruptly and dug her fingernails into the skin of her palms until red, crescent-shaped marks appeared, threatening to spill blood. 

She ducked, letting her short pink lock curtain her face from other's view and leaned her forehead against her desk. She could do this. She could face Hatake Kakashi, she could do that. She would look him in the eyes - _eye_ , she corrected herself- and tell him what her dream was. She would face him with a straight face as if she had never seen hime before, and deceive this top-rank Jounin. She would convince him not to favor Sasuke, that Naruto wasn't a ghost from the past, and that she wasn't a useless civilian-born girl. She would, because she was Haruno Sakura, _shannaro_. 

"He's so late!" Naruto exclaimed in his usual brash, loud way, voice echoing against the bare walls. Sasuke sighed, moodily glaring our of the window, smile replaced by a pouty frown. Sakura couldn't tell if it was because he was annoyed at their sensei, or because Naruto was a natural at being loud and repetitive about what didn't sit well with him. She chose to stare at the board ahead, emerald eyes dulling. 

She had already thought about how an early graduation could change things, but suddenly it all seemed too real. The Chuunin Exams were undoubtedly the catalyst and beginning of all what would come to happen, but they were too important to just neglect. The Suna-Oto attack, Orochimaru, Gaara and his siblings; changing that event too much wouldn't end well. Gaara would never be defeated and change his ways, Kabuto wouldn't be revealed- and even the negative effects, such as Sasuke's defection, caused chain effects that eventually lead up to the Fourth Shinobi War. Without that war, the Five Great Lands would never come to trust each other and work together -perhaps even causing a new Fourth Shinobi War -one that would certainly last longer than a few days; her Fourth Shinobi War had been exceptional. 

All in all, Sakura was in for a great deal of planning. Somehow, the three of them needed to be a part of that Chuunin exam, but that wasn't possible since Team Seven's skill-rates would be Chuunin-ready far before that. Her eyes flashed, and a triumphant grin almost curled her lips.

'Team Seven will have to be proctors for that exam,' she thought, and Inner agreed. 

 _'As long as Orochimaru doesn't attack during our first, and hopefully only, attempt at the Exams, then we doomed our universe.'_  Inner informed unhelpfully, but the rosette knew the voice was exaggerating. 

'He won't, he's still in the Akatsuki, and will be there for at least another year. He'll be far more interested in Uchiha Itachi's eyes than Sasuke-kun's, at that point,' Sakura reminded, and Inner made a satisfied noise. 

Another hour slugged past, and Naruto had started impatiently pacing around, his chakra fluctuating agitatedly. "Where is he?! Do y'think somebody forgot to tell him that he's supposed to come and get us?" 

"Hardly," replied Sasuke, huffing indignantly as he glared at the clock as though he could make it spontaneously combust and thusly solve the current predicament. Sakura heaved a deep sigh, combing her fingers through her pink tresses.

After another minute of senseless staring, she stood up. "I'll be back in a minute or two," she told them, and headed out, pretending not to hear Naruto's shriek ' _where are you going!?_ ', and headed down the hallway. Going to the toilet and back took the same time as heading towards the library and back, yet if she told them the latter they'd refuse to let her go. Probably because they thought their sensei would arrive just that particular minute; as if he'd ever come less that three hours late unless there was a mission to head out for. 

The dusty, papery scent of books greeted her, and she sighed as a smile graced her features. It was deadly silent, as there only other person in the large room was the librarian who was immersed in a familiar orange book. She walked up to the third shelf, picked out the fourth book from the left, and headed out again before he could take notice. He never even looked up from his smut, and Sakura slipped the small, leather-bound book _'Intricacies of Illusions; Genjutsu for Genin'_ into her pouch. 

The classroom was still void of any sensei, and both Naruto and Sasuke looked glum. None of them bothered to question where she had been, and Sakura figured they must've assumed she went to the facilities. She sat back down again, the ticking of the clock starting get on her nerves as well. She drummed her fingers against the table, leaning her cheek against the palm of her hand and propping her elbow up on the table. 

It took Hatake Kakashi another thirty-two minutes and ten seconds to open the door, interrupting Naruto's eraser prank -the blond had just picked up the sponge, not even setting his plan properly into motion. His exuberant smile faltered for a brief moment, looking like a deer with a lightning-jutsu in visage, but then laughed airily and placed it back, scratching the back of his head with the other calloused hand. 

"You're late, sensei!" He ground out angrily, but his eyes betrayed he was still embarrassed at almost being caught redhanded. Sakura took the familiar sigh it. Ashen hair that defied gravity, jutting a bit to the side, and eyes such a dark shade of gray that they almost seemed black, fair skin that would've looked delicate on anyone else. Konoha-uniform, mask to guard his lower face, and a tall, athletic built that she knew not only derived from Jounin-hood, but also Clan-inheritance. For a moment she found herself envying both Naruto and Sasuke; they all had natural skill _and_ good genes to back them up. 

"Hn," Sasuke agreed with Naruto, opting for the less vocal and least admitting-Naruto-has-a-point way. Sakura barely managed a to glower at him, pretending she was just as annoyed as the others. _Obito isn't dead, you're allowed to live, Obito isn't dead, you're allowed to live, Obito isn't dead-_

"Three hours!" Sakura glared, crossing her arms over her currently flat chest; not going on a diet would make it grow more in this life that her other, she figured. Not that she thought she'd ever rival Hinata -Tsunade was out of question, that woman didn't even count- or her busty mother (then again, perhaps the diet had changed her evolvement _that_ much; she could only hope), but she knew her genes in that matter weren't bad. Diets were awful, she had decided.

"Maa maa," he said, "meet me on the roof." And then he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto gaped, and Sasuke was doing a good job at hiding his own astonishment. Sakura stared at the place where her sensei -her scarred sensei who deserved much better than the horrors fate had stored for him- had previously stood, and found herself unable to fight the small, sad smile. She rubbed her teary eyes with the back of her hand, feeling oddly light. Team Seven was back. And it made her want to smile like a loon and shed tears of happiness.

"I thought I was going to fall asleep, had he not come." She spoke nonchalantly, just in case somebody had seen her small display, and laughed lightly before skipping towards the shoji door. "We should hurry, we don't want to encourage his tardiness." She airily continued, smiling with glittering eyes.   

"Hai, Sakura-chan!" Naruto had no qualms against loudly vocalizing his agreement, but Sasuke seemed to be a bit more reluctant to do anything on her command. The blond bolted out of the door with a bright smile radiating excitement, and with a harrumph the Uchiha followed suit, brushing past Sakura without sparing her a single glance. She didn't even flinch, only a tinge of disappointment tugging at her heart; yet to be properly acknowledged, then.

Distantly, she remembered that during her first Chuunin Exams, she had told the other participants that he always blurted out spazzy things, that he had a condition and was on medication. She recalled begging Sasuke to stay, that she'd do anything for him, and how he used his sharingan on her to knock her out before leaving. She remembered Kakashi telling them that those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.

Sakura smiled, albeit a little sadly, and followed the two boys out. Her viridian eyes hardened glacially, and she remembered the helplessness and panic she experienced in the Forest of Death. She remembered being useless. And for a brief moment, she looked vicious.

* * *

"How about you introduce yourselves?" Kakashi offered lackadaisically, leaning against the fence of the roof as the three children sat down on the two stairs leading towards the balcony he stood on. Sakura wondered if he had the same introduction-ritual with every Team he was assigned to. Perhaps he had read it in a guide book when he was younger? _How To Train A Ninja Team - All Inside Tips_ , she could imagine that.

"Introduce ourselves?" Naruto sounded gob-smacked, as if the necessity of the concept was beyond him.

"Hai," the Jounin slowly nodded. "Tell me your likes, dislikes... Your hobbies, and dreams for the future."

 _'Definitely read it all in a handbook.'_ Inner confirmed.

"How about you go first, sensei." Sakura stated, and next to her Naruto nodded vigorously. The rosette assumed he wouldn't have known what to say otherwise. Sasuke just stared, onyx eyes narrowed and shimmering with doubt. She almost laughed, remembering how they had all underestimated Hatake Kakashi at first.

"Who, me?" His eye crinkled.

Briefly, Sakura commended him. Diligent when it came to missions, a tardy non-committed person otherwise. She'd appreciate it if he didn't play dumb, however. She didn't have the chance to say _'yes, you'_ before he continued.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi," he started breezily, "I like a lot of things, and there are at least equally many things I don't like. I have loads of hobbies, of which most you are to young to know about. About my dreams... I have dreams." He looked annoyingly satisfied with himself at that moment. Naruto made an odd sound, turning to stare at Sakura.

"That was, like, totally useless!" He squawked indignantly, and Sasuke made an agreeing grunt. It was probably the closest to an agreement with Naruto he would get in a while, Sakura thought. "The only thing we learned was his name!"

"All right then," Kakashi spoke up, crossing his arms over his chest. The viridian-eyed girl could see a hint of detached amusement in his dark eyes. "Orange kid, you're up first."

Naruto wasn't clad all in orange -his thin jacket _was_ that atrocious color, but his pants were khaki and his shirt was a dull, dusty red- and Sakura wondered how Kakashi would react when Naruto would buy various pairs of his orange jumpsuit she knew he was saving for.

The Uzumaki sat up straight, correcting his headband with a vibrant smile. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo! I really like ramen, especially the Ichiraku ramen that Iruka-sensei treats me! I _hate_ the three minutes you have to wait after adding the water to ramen! My hobby is to train with Sakura-chan, and comparing ramen! My dream for the future is to become the best Hokage ever, dattebayo!"

Kakashi blinked, and for a moment the rosette thought she saw a faraway look flimmering through his eyes. The one he would only have when seeing past memories flash in his mind like striking lightning. Then his eyes crinkled into his notorious eye-smile, humming thoughtfully whilst raising an ashen eyebrow. "Okay," he said diplomatically, almost blandly, before turning his attention to her. "Pinkie, your turn."

Sakura blinked once, momentarily glancing around her. "Ah, my name is Haruno Sakura. I like my friends, helping others and reading. I dislike underhanded politics-" a moment too late Sakura realized that perhaps she shouldn't have said that, but then decided to just be honest, "-greed, and jerks. My hobbies are training and..." _And helping Naruto, scheming like a politician, planning the shinobi world's future-_ "Well, my dream is to make a difference in this world. I want to surpass Senju Tsunade-hime, in both medical ninjutsu and taijutsu, and become the best kunoichi ever! I want to be the one to protect, not the one to be protected."

"I see," Kakashi hummed noncommitedky, as though only checking a list off, and then nodded towards Sasuke. "Uchiha."

The raven sighed, and then look up with almost hidden excitement, smoothening his gray shirt. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I like tomatoes and my Aniki. I don't like idiots, sashimi, nattou and lots of other things. My hobbies are training and taking walks, and my dream for the future is to outdo my Aniki!"

For a moment Kakashi gazed at them all with blank eyes, and then nodded, "You're all unique." He said it as if it had been a compliment. "Tomorrow we will begin our first mission as a team."

Naruto looked excited, jumping up from his position on the stair with an exuberant grin. "Really?! What? What?"

"Survival training," he deadpanned, and Sakura felt complied to ask the same question as the last time.

"But we already did that in the Academy, so why do you want to do it as well?" She inquired, appropriately confused, and knitted her brows.

Kakashi laughed lightly, and the rosette found that it didn't sound quite as genuine as it had been in her past life. " _Because_ ," he started, "Twenty-seven kids graduated from the Academy, and we only allow the three best teams to become true Genin. This means that approximately sixty-six percent will be sent back to the Academy."

Naruto's face fell, and Sasuke stiffened next to her. Sakura crossed her arms, glancing at her two teammates. 'We're becoming Genin, we have to.'

"Then what was the Graduation Exam for?" Naruto wailed, stomping angrily and seething.

"Oh, _that_?" Kakashi's eye crinkled, as if regarding something incredibly silly. "That was only to weed out those with no potential. Anyway, meet me at Training Ground Seven, at five tomorrow morning." For a moment he stared at them, and added conveniently, "Oh yeah, before I forget. If you eat breakfast before, you'll puke."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everybody, so so so so much. I never thought I'd get above 20 kudos, let alone 30, this far. But 54, guys, I'm at loss for words. Thank you for your lovely comments, and helpful criticism to improve my writing!  
> It's rather odd to portray Sasuke like that, since the massacre has yet to happen. Unfortunately, I think it'll happen about two chapters from now, I'm sorry if you had hoped for Sakura to stop that...  
> Anyway, Kakashi will be the main love interest, but I'm open for suggestions for side romances since I don't think it's very realistic to like one person your entire life and not ever like anybody else^^  
> Have a lovely day,  
> SenjuMizusaya


	4. Bell Test - The Second

**_"""A Shinobi's life is not measured by how they lived, but rather what they managed to accomplish before their death.""" -_ ** _**Jiraiya**_

* * *

 Sakura didn't eat breakfast, for she was well aware that there was no logical reason for her to suddenly defy the first statement her sensei made. There was just no way she'd allow herself to make foolish mistakes and attract unwanted attention, not when there were so many other potential slip ups waiting for her to bumble right into. It was better to avoid what was easy to avoid. Even if she knew she should have eaten breakfast. Instead she managed to squeeze two nutrition-bars into her pouch as well, among the shuriken, senbon and ninja-wire. She checked that her kunai pouch was safely fastened, and corrected the rough-spun cotton material of her shirt. The girl remembered how she had preferred softer materials in her past Geninhood. 

She also remembered the numerous ripped quipao dresses thrown into the bin, its material too finespun to be sewn back into one piece. 

Sakura didn't waste any time, quickly brushing her short hair until silky, rosy tresses framed her face like it was supposed do when meeting her family and yet to be exposed to the harshness of training with Kakashi. The emerald-eyed girl could hear raised voices from downstairs, Mebuki arguing with Kizashi that _No, Sakura dearest did not have a place in the shinobi world and- No, Sakura wasn't meant to be a ninja, she was a delicate girl-_

The girl opted to exit through her window, sandaled feet hitting the ground as her eyes crackled with green lightning. 

Her blood was boiling. Was this how Naruto had felt? Always told the negative, always told that you were incapable of doing something. Most likely it was much worse for him, since there was a multitude of other situations piling up in his case. Sakura shook her head, but couldn't help but to feel a twinge of accomplishment. She had successfully taught him how to read and write, which would hopefully make life simpler for him, and she prided herself in calling him her best friend along with Ino, even though the Yamanaka had only begrudgingly come to accept Naruto as a close friend as well. Sakura knew she viewed him with kindness, however, and that would have to suffice for now. 

The amber sun had peeked over the lush mass of trees, drawing arrays of pale pink and azure over the brightening sky. The birds had audibly woken up, perched on the roof of the buildings and bathing in the worm light as a pleasant cacophony of songs spread across Konohagakure. Distantly, Sakura wondered how Madara had ever come to despise this place. 

A scrawny young girl ran past, followed by her brunette friend, laughing merrily with no care in the world. At first, Sakura felt a ruse of happiness, but it was stifled as emptiness washed over her. _Not a care in the world._ Sakura didn't want to relive war. She didn't want to change it either- that would be like her letting the never-ending conflicts between the Great Nations rage on and not lifting a finger. Not lifting a finger to stop it when it was possible to do so. Sakura didn't want to relive Pein's, _Nagato's_ , demolishing attack. Didn't want to see Yuki Haku and Momochi Zabuza die, didn't want to witness the countless crimes the world had offer. 

A memory of Sasuke's words rang in her head _'If you think I'm just a foolish kid ruled by his emotions, that's fine. Following Itachi's path would have been too childish, the whispering of fools who don't know hatred. If anyone else tries to ridicule the way I live, I'll slaughter everyone they ever cared about. And then maybe they'll understand what it's like to taste... a little of my hatred.'_

Didn't want to see stubborn Uchiha Sasuke ignore everybody else for his own selfish goals. Didn't want to see Hyuuga Neji die. There were a lot of things Sakura didn't want. Reliving the bell test wasn't on that list, so she shook the thought away with a defiant shake of her locks, staring up at the sky. She'd just go along with the mission, save whoever she could... Her bed seemed very inviting, and she rubbed her eyes at the misleading thought of sleep. 

Sakura trudged on with more charisma in her stance that she possessed, head held high and a false smile twisting her lips. Annihilating training grounds always did her good when she had these thoughts, but despite heading towards Training Ground 7, destroying landscapes were currently out of question. Not only was she currently unable to, but had she possessed those skills it would've been a one way ticket to a lot of unwanted attention and conversations. 

Two ninja jumped over the roofs despite the early hours, sprinting towards the Hokage Tower with speed rarely seen in even Jounin. Shiranui Genma and Namiashi Raidou, Tokubetsu Jounin to boot. 

 _'Genma-san is still struggling with the guilt. He believes it's his fault the Yondaime died, that he failed his duty as a handpicked member of the Hokage guard platoon,'_ Inner supplied helpfully, and Sakura cast a chaste glance at the amber-eyed man, leisurely biting down on his senbon as if he wasn't running at breakneck speed at all. His expression was tense, and Raidou seemed to be wounded and struggled to keep up. Sakura wondered what had happened. 

'Does that mean Raidou-san processed it sooner than his teammate? I always imagined Genma-san was the type who accepted and moved on,' Sakura thought, and Inner sent her a feeling that could be closely compared to a shrug. 

 _'Everyone has something they get stuck with,'_ Inner spoke, and the girl couldn't help but to shake the feeling that she herself was helplessly stuck with a self induced martyr-complex that told her to change the world for the better. Sakura sighed. She needed to loose some steam, needed to clear her head. 

* * *

Predictably, when Kakashi still hadn't arrived after a full hour of waiting, Naruto was too worked up to sleep and had taken to pacing angrily. Sasuke seemed to have trouble keeping his eyes open, leaning against a tree and breathing suspiciously rhythmically. Sakura was staring at her blue Konoha-sandals. 

'If Genma-san and Raidou-san were a part of the guard platoon, even if they failed to protect Namikaze Minato-sama, wouldn't that mean that they were at least nearby when the Kyuubi struck? Wasn't one of them in Obito-san's Academy Class? Wouldn't it then be logical for their teams to work side by side? Maybe, if we pulled the strings right-' 

 _'Hold it, shrimp.'_ Inner hissed with beady eyes. _'Let me remind you of some things. Genma-san and Raidou-san were indeed in Obito-san's Academy Class, and their teams most certainly worked together at some points. When the two of them were selected as a part of the guard platoon, Obito-san was already supposedly dead so they could not in any way get to know the Uchiha better. They were the youngest in the platoon, no-name teenage twerps trying to figure out just when girls got so troublesome, juggling their lives with the experience of a mere teenager. Even if one of them might have gotten a glimpse of what happened during the Kyuubi attack, there is no way he'd ever make the illogical conclusion that the psycho man in the mask is his childhood loser-acquaintance who has not actually kicked the bucket despite all evidence.'_

Sakura wrapped her slender arms around her legs, and rested her forehead against her knees. 'I don't think I'm cut out for this.' 

_'Focus on the present instead, you can't get to Madara, Zetsu and Obito-san yet-'_

Zetsu. That despicable inkblob who made everything sour. Sakura decided would make Genin (and then Chuunin and then Jounin) and destroy the bastard along the way, _shannaro_. 

Naruto growled, staring at the road where he was decided Kakashi would come strolling down upon. Sakura knew he wouldn't. He'd just poof into existence with one of his perfected shunshin, telling them a ridiculous excuse nobody was likely to believe. She dug her heel into the earthy ground, and wished that the Jounin would appear. She underestimated his tardiness. Now that he held no attachment to them whatsoever, she doubted he would arrive within three hours of the original time instead of only two. Sakura wasn't amused. 

 _'Hey guys; sorry I'm late! I got lost on the path of life.'_ As Sakura stared at the ground, she felt another tsunami of icy waters engulf her from the inside. Kakashi wasn't lost on the path of life. He had lost the path of life completely and was running through a murky evergreen forest with unforgiving needles and lurking beasts. She remembered him slowly coming back, thawing and finding the track and being _with_ _them_. She remembered stumbling down the track herself and threatening to fall and get lost. 

She remembered being thirty-five, remembered her own bitterness as the Fifth Shinobi War was announced and her own Sarada had to leave to the fronts together with her. Remembered being a field medic and fighting and screaming like- _like_ \- Remembered the relief when war was over, the grief of her lost friends and the sinuous thoughts of relief that it wasn't her, Sarada, Sasuke, Ino, Kakashi or Naruto. 

_'I got lost on the path of life-'_

_'-Got lost-'_

_'-Lost-'_

_'Lost.'_

Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke, dark eye crinkling with the sincerity of a politician about to engage in a tedious conversation. Sakura's grip on the cotton material of her pants tightened, giving him an accusing glare because she had to and that was what she should do. 

"You're late again!" Naruto screeched, pouncing over to the Hatake with dangerously alighted eyes. "You better have a good excuse," he then informed with crossed arms. 

Kakashi didn't look deterred by the anger and disappointment in the blond's demeanor, only laughed lightly as though such course of action would calm Naruto down. "Ah, this black cat crossed the road so I had to take a detour." 

Naruto scowled, anger flaring and ' _bullshit_ ' burning on the tip of his tongue, but didn't have the chance to reply before the Hatake placed a round alarm clock the shade of freshly spilled blood. "The lot of you, however, _will_ have to make sure you keep to the time limit," he said airily, and out of his navy pocket he fished out two bells. "The purpose of this test is to steal a bell from me. The one who doesn't have a bell at the end of the test fails, and goes back to the Academy." 

Naruto stared at the bells, brows knit as he counted, then recounted, and lastly turned to his team to count them as well. Sasuke sneered, resting a hand on his hip in a fashion reminiscent to the way he'd do in the far future. "Hn. There are only two bells."

"Does that mean only two can pass this test?" Sakura inquired, wary with the appropriate amount of anxiety hidden underneath. She felt a misplaced sense of accomplishment. Her deception skills had to be unrivaled in their years group. 

Kakashi's eye only crinkled again, which anybody would've taken as a confirmation, but the rosette was already aware of the true meaning behind the test. Teamwork. Purposely pitting them against each other. Her eyes narrowed competitively. Teamwork may be the answer, but first she'd try it herself, _shannaro_. 

And Sakura desperately wanted to at least touch those bells this time around.

"The time is up at noon. Only those with bells will be allowed to eat lunch, while the one who fails will be tied to a post and watch as the others eat lunch in front of them." He jutted his thumb in the direction to three sturdy, wooden training posts originally meant for taijutsu practice. Naruto's stomach growled, and he clutched his stomach. Sakura tried to ignore her own craving for food. Sasuke resolutely stared towards the wood, hands clenched to fists at his sides. For a moment, Sakura wondered if Sasuke was as good as he had been as a fresh Genin in her first life. Then he had his revenge to spur him on (although, ultimately almost to madness). 

"Fine! Just you wait! I'll catch those bells, dattebayo!" Naruto pointed a tanned finger at his sensei, who lifted an unimpressed eyebrow as he turned his attention back to the exuberant boy. 

"Did you say something?" 

Naruto's faltering was instantaneous, his eyebrow twitching and eyes burning with both fury and embarrassment. Sakura was reminded of Kakashi's interactions with Gai. Clearly the Jounin saw similarities in both personalities as well. 

"I'm gonna demolish you!" He shouted, words trailing behind him as he sprinted of towards the Copy Ninja, and Sakura didn't hesitate to lunge and catch his wrist in her own iron grip. He almost tripped at the abrupt halt.  

"Save your strength for the actual battle, Naruto-kun. He hasn't even announced the start yet." She hissed to gritted teeth, viridian eyes shimmering unnaturally bright. "Then, we'll all demolish him together." 

Naruto didn't look prone to the idea of doing something together, stubbornly jutting his chin forth and telling her, "There're only two bells." But he took a step back and seemed come back to his senses, hands balling into white-knuckled fists at his sides. His chakra, while previously erratic an uncontrollable, was now a steady stream buzzing with excitement underneath his skin. 

Sakura shifted her chakra into sensory mode, even though the action was rusty and inefficient. She almost laughed, hiding a bitter quirk of her lips; her sensory aptitude was lukewarm at most, but in this life training it from a younger age made it less of a challenge in the future. She remembered taking a kunai to the stomach when trying to shift into sensory mode in the Fifth Shinobi War. 

Kakashi's chakra was white, although not pure like untainted snow. It was the off-white of bleach and lightning, of polished bones and unforgiving chidori. It held no warmth, but deep down the was a protected, gentler swirl of white silk and soft velvet, betraying that his title as the Friend Killer was not as fitting as one might have initially believed. 

Naruto's chakra was as eye-catching as he was. A verdant forest baking in scorching sun, filled with life and buzzing with more energy than a crowded market. Restless like a storm at sea, with the mere promise that perhaps, there was peace at the center. Sakura couldn't look that far, nor did she want to. She was aware of what resided alongside his soul at his center. 

Sasuke's was a blue fire, crackling on glacial obsidian and marble that was not heated by the intensity of the intense flames that seemed to almost sizzle with power. It held no shard of shadowed hatred yet, and for a brief moment Sakura felt like she was staring at a stranger. But at his centre, there was still a burning light of determination that did not know the word waver. 

She coaxed her own chakra into action, feeling a familiar sweep along her pathways as it rushed and intensified every sense and muscle. 

"Start." 

There was a burst of chakra, a rush of air around her as the rosette jumped away into the bushes where she had hidden before as well. Sasuke was gone as well, but she could sense him on a branch at the other side of the clearing. Naruto, the stubborn fool, repeated his actions of the past (future?), and remained rooted to the spot with a ferocious snarl and a heated glare. 

"You know, compared to your teammates, you're the odd one out. A ninja should learn how to it in with the surroundings, to hide and wait for the right opportunity to strike." Kakashi notified, and Naruto looked so feral that it would not have surprised Sakura if he had Inuzuka blood. 

"The only thing that's odd here s'your hairstyle, sensei!" And, though Sakura was far from surprised at this point, Naruto charged once again, heading in for a taijutsu match he could not win on his own. Sakura was tempted to help out, but decided against it. Not just yet. When she had caught a glimpse of how he fought -not only to keep up her white lie, but to notice the subtle differences in fighting style. 

Kakashi started reading his Icha Icha. Naruto roared. The fight progressed.

The blond boy's movements were more coordinated that they had been, a determinated narrowing to his eyes and a glint in his eyes that did not sit too well with Sakura. He looked like if push came to shove, he'd be willing to bite Kakashi to death if that was what it took. She was certain he had not looked like that the last time. That look had come after Kabuto. 

Naruto sent a bruising kick that would've hit the solar plexus, but Kakashi took a nimble step backwards and with a speedy elbow jab he sent Naruto flying towards the water. It was certainly better than the Thousand Fingers of Death. Sakura felt proud, and decided that when Naruto's shadow clones would pop out of the water, she'd join the fight. 

First she'd need to convince Sasuke, however. Worst case scenario; they'd just have to feed Naruto lunch and pass that way. 

Uzumaki Naruto resurfaced, climbing back onto the shore with dripping hair and soaked clothes. "I'm gonna be Hokage one day, ya know." His voice was rough as he spoke. "So don't you believe for a second that I don't have a trick up my sleeve." And, as at least dozen shadow clones emerged from the water, Sakura had to admit that Naruto had a sense for dramatics. 

There was a change in fighting; while before haphazard and furious, the teamwork between the clones was impeccable. One attack after the other, enough time between each to make sure one clone did not the hit the other. 

Sakura sprinted out from the bush, every step intensified by her chakra. Vaguely, she remembered using her chakra to power her punches during her first Chuunin exams, and figured that while she did not have the chakra control to use her special taijutsu, she could still use that technique.

The Naruto clones, thankfully, didn't attack her when she came to join the fight. She doubted he'd prefer Sasuke on the team over her. Now she just had to somehow persuade the Uchiha into a little teamwork as well, but she didn't even have a skeleton for that plan yet. Most likely some sort of combination attack would do the trick on Kakashi, to convince him she wasn't solely charging during Naruto's attack to use any openings she got for her own selfishness-

 _Openings_.

Sasuke would undoubtedly sent his barrage of shuriken or kunai if he got the opening to do so. Perhaps if she could make him _see_ that teaming up against Kakashi had better results than solo fights... She could try.

The lunch option was still open, after all, as long as Naruto was caught in the trap and hung there long enough to see it.

Sakura twirled the kunai and was graced by the slicing sound of the blade cutting through the air meeting her ears, refreshing the memory of its weight. One of the shadow clones popped, and she used the brief smoke to conceal that she hurled it towards the ashen haired Jounin. Her fingers gripped two more kunai in each hand and sent it after the first black knife.

As expected, Kakashi dodged the all with an almost lazy jump away, but Sakura felt accomplished when his eyes betrayed a brief, _brief, brief_ flash of hidden surprise to her trained eyes. He hadn't expected anybody to join the fight, then. Sakura's mouth twisted into a sharp smirk, chakra-jumping into the air and hand digging into her pouch. Calloused fingers met the cold metal of shuriken and ninja-wire, but opted for senbon instead. Not usually her first choice, but she knew it was better to leave the shuriken-and-ninja-wire attacks to Sasuke. They were one of his best attacks, and she didn't want to discourage him by giving him the idea that it would seem like he was copying her. 

The senbon implanted themselves where Kakashi had stood only a split-second before, and he danced precariously close to a vicious combo-kick by two clones for a moment before dodging. Sakura almost thought she saw his lips twitch under his mask, but it could've been a fluke or the light.

Her feet hit the soft grass again, and her hands formed rapid handseals with perhaps a little more ease than they should've. Luckily Kakashi was facing the other direction, but she couldn't be certain. She focused on him, fee thumping against the ground as she got into the seven meter radius necessary for the genjutsu. "Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu!" She uttered, and focused a small portion of her chakra on the Jounin.

For a moment, she saw in the odd double-vision of which on was the real one and the other picturing the hell-viewing technique. She tried not to be disappointed when he dispelled it as soon as the leaves surrounding him started scattering. He hadn't even faltered his movements, but Sakura supposed it was to have been expected.

Every one of Naruto's clones attacked at the same time, as one had sneaked up around Kakashi while the others had distracted him, and jumped onto his back and locking the Hatake's arms behind him. Just before the first clone was going to land the first blow, Sakura saw the ever slight flicker in the Jounin's movements and knew he had gotten away from Naruto's relentless attack that would've followed.

She took this as an opportunity to jump away back into the bushes, and watched as Naruto dispelled all clones to figure out which one of them was the disguised Kakashi. He found that he was the only one left, and hissed through gritted teeth, eyes scanning the surroundings with the building pressure of a roar impriaoned behind gritted teeth and chapped lips.

And then, a bell innocently caught the light at the roots of a tree and Naruto's anger melted like snow for the Suna sun. Sakura saw it happen before it actually happened. 

A shriek of triumph and surprise. Naruto running, and he sprinted right into the trap. The joyous expression fell as soon as he found himself hanging upside down from the tree. 

Now she only had to convince Sasuke to forsake his Uchiha pride and work together with her despite his ninjutsu being top notch for somebody his age and having seen that her genjutsu was ineffective on Kakashi. 

Sakura decided that passing by feeding Naruto lunch was most likely the only option. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the late update! I had been planning on updating a lot this week, but apparently not... Anyway, I'm sorry if anythings seems odd or Pre-Massacre OOC, because I haven't watched a Naruto episode in ages. (Reading fanfics is a very time consuming hobby^^) I have finally finished my championships, so updates might become a bit more regular (unfortunately no promises.)  
> Take care everybody!


	5. Cracks in the Mirror

_**"""Even innocent, foolish children will grow up in the face of pain, until their thoughts and beliefs are the same as their** **doubts.""" -** _ _**Pein (Nagato)** _

* * *

 Sakura's muscles were tightly corded, ready to pounce. Whether to attack or to flee, it was a decision she had yet to make as the leaves rustled restlessly around her. Sasuke had fled after preparing a series of traps and unleashing them on Kakashi, leaving Naruto hanging and not entirely unscathed from the kunai whizzing past towards Kakashi. 

And Sakura was torn between racing after Sasuke or helping Naruto. 

She gave the hissing and spitting blond Uzumaki a contemplative look, saw the bento on the gleaming memorial stone, and jumped away in the general direction she knew Sasuke was heading towards. Briefly, she remembered the likelihood of her being the next target. Genjutsu. 

The rosy haired girl landed softly on mossy stones at the edge of a barely-there clearing, crouching and waiting. She had already demonstrated her genjutsu skills by using the technique he had caught her with the first time around. She doubted she'd be seeing a dying Sasuke this time. In fact, she wasn't certain what she'd she if she was caught under that technique. It was easy enough to notice, but _what_ would her brain design for her to see something horrifying? 

Sakura wasn't sure she wanted to find out. 

Then, she felt it. The telltale flicker in her chakra that told her it was being used against her in a genjutsu. She prepared to stand up, but found that her limbs refused to cooperate. They refused to move, and Sakura was unable to convince them otherwise through any physical force. Kanashibari no Jutsu, a genjutsu that convinced the mind that the body was paralyzed while it actually wasn't. C-rank, that was better than the D-rank he had used on her the last time. 

She focused inside, feeling her trusted chakra steadily streaming through its pathways. While her chakra, thanks to here reincarnation fiasco, was certainly larger than before, it was still a great deal smaller than Naruto's or Sasuke's. Chuunin level, about as much as Kiba possessed, but that was more than enough. 

She took a deep breath, relaxing and focusing inside, making it seem a little more difficult than it was- 

Another rush of jaded darkness fell over her mind, disrupting her concentration briefly. Was everything in this life a show? Was she just following her past footsteps like- _like_ - 

Sakura shooed the thought from her mind, disrupting the flow of her chakra and releasing the genjutsu. She shook her locks, alertly scanning her surroundings for a glimpse of Hatake Kakashi. His signature brushed just at the edge of her senses, but he had already made contact with Sasuke. It was a clone who had put her under a genjutsu, then. 

She was out of practice. Normally she never fell for this, or at least knew what was going on. A dark feeling welled up, brief and intense with frustration. She had always done what she believed was right, practiced under Senju Tsunade and studied all medical books one was allowed to study. Part of her didn't want to do that again, part of her wanted something new and exciting. 

'There is still so much we don't know, so much left to learn and master. If we study that during this time-' Sakura thought, but Inner's temper flared dangerously. 

 _'You want to learning **even more** this time around?! You sound like a second coming of Orochimaru!'_ Inner screeched. _'Ban the thoughts of the forbidden scrolls and books right this instance!'_

The viridian eyed girl couldn't argue with that, memories of silky hair like a raven's wing and a hissing voice just beneath the surface of her own. _'Either people change or they die before they do. It's one or the other— It's human nature not to realize the true value of something, unless they lose it-'_

She kicked a pebble down form the stone, watching it fall with burning eyes. That snake always was persistent when it came to leaving a mark on the world. His thirst for all knowledge found -and even that yet to be found- was remarkable ambition, though sadly gone to waste when his mind was poisoned by his own heart. She didn't hate him as much as he had done when he had first stoled Sasuke away from her -without his help the Fourth Shinobi War would've been lost- but she certainly harbored no positive feelings for him. 

At least, it certainly did little good for her mood to be compared to that unhinged creep. She heaved a sigh, and started trotting towards the direction Sasuke would be seemingly beheaded, though actually partially buried underground. 

* * *

 "You all fail." Kakashi told them bluntly, not even a crinkle to his eye present. Naruto, tied to the stump and looking devastated, had tears gathering in his azure eyes and threatening to spill. 

"You- you're kidding, right?" His voice cracked, not fully able to cover his desperation with his usual confidence. 

"In fact," Kakashi stated in a frosty tone Sakura _knew_ betrayed his following words would be downright nasty. "You might as well quit the Academy, since you are clearly unable to think like ninja." 

Naruto gulped audibly, glaring at the ground with an angered and mortified blush rising high upon his cheeks, shutting his eyes and turning away. His balled fists shook at the effort it took not to go on a rampage. Sakura blinked, staring at the grassy grounds at his feet with an oddly disappointed feeling.

Sasuke was more vocal. "You can't do that! The test was impossible, it's unfair!" At least he hadn't mindlessly charged at Kakashi this time. 

"Life is never fair, Sasuke-kun. Life just _happens_ , like _I_  just happened to be _your_ sensei. Besides," finally, his eye crinkled -even if it was a humorless parody of the smile Sakura had grown accustomed to in her past life. "The test wasn't impossible. Not if you had discovered the true meaning behind it. The _real_  test." 

"Real test?" Naruto echoed. 

"Yes. The _real_ test," parroted Kakashi, merciless. "Have you ever wondered why you were put in _three_ _man_ squads?" 

"No! That's what a sensei is for, to tell his students what the hell they're s'pposed to do!" Naruto's voice was hoarse when he screamed, kicking his heels against the thick wood though with little effect on his captivity. 

"No one?" Kakashi's dark pool lazily glided over Sasuke and Sakura, and the former snarled with poorly contained rage. "None of you can guess?" There was an agitated glint in his eye, as if he wasn't angry at them in person but angry at the lot of them _together_. "You mean to tell me that the three of you have been year mates in every class you've been to in the Academy, _always_ together and then _coincidentally_ placed in the same team? You're insinuating that there wasn't a meaning as to why the _three of you_ are a squad?" 

Naruto didn't know what insinuating was, but judging from the twitch in his eye he didn't need to know the exact meaning to get the message. Sasuke's inky gaze darkened. Sakura finally met the Jounin's stare, "Kakashi-sensei, do you mean teamwork?"

"Yes, Sakura-chan." He drawled, though there finally was a small light in his eye, though she couldn't tell if not was good or bad. "Teamwork. One or two Genin alone couldn't dream to catch the bells. Perhaps if you worked as a team you could've maybe gotten one or even two, but an effort alone would've made me glad to pass you." 

"You purposely pitted us against each other." Sasuke furrowed his brows, lips a thin line. His hands, clasped together in his lap, were white and rigid. 

"Oh, yeah yeah yeah! I get it now, there were only two bells for an _other_ reason than to send us back to the Academy! That's sneaky, dattebayo!" Naruto seethed angrily, and Kakashi met his azure gaze evenly. 

"A ninja must see through deception." The sensei lectured. "And unfortunately for you three, your teamwork is sorely lacking. Sasuke-kun, you're too arrogant, don't dismiss the others." Sasuke had the decency to avert his gaze, and Naruto turned his burning, accusing glower to the raven. "Naruto-kun! You wanted to do everything on your own, and even when Sakura-chan jumped in to help you did little for the teamwork." 

"Uh-" The Uzumaki's cheeks flushed vermillion once again. Then, Kakashi turned to Sakura. 

"Your brief act of teamwork was most certainly a step in the right direction, though as soon as it went a brush less good for you, you simply jumped back into stand-by mode. Stick by your teammates."

Sakura felt insulted. _'He just want to comment on something for criticism's cause!'_ Inner growled, a bit vainly, though none could deny that it was a sensible evaluation at least. She huffed sourly, but nodded. 

The ashen-haired Jounin swept his gaze over the three students, and Sakura received the brunt of its intensity as it lingered on her. "Well then, I'm feeling lenient, so I'm giving you a second chance. After lunch, you have another three hours to get the bells from me. If not, you'll be dropped from the program. Ah, and before I forget, Naruto-kun gets no lunch. If he eats, you'll all be failed." His tone was chipped, but Sakura had known him long enough to know there were no ill intentions towards them whatsoever. 

He shunshined away to let the words sink in. 

Naruto's stomach growled as Sakura retrieved the bento boxes and handed one to Sasuke. "It's okay," Naruto told them. "I can go without lunch today! I can go without lunch _any_ day! I can go for _weeks_ without any lunch, without food at all-" 

Sakura shook her pink locks, a move she was growing painfully accustomed to, and split her chopsticks. "Don't be silly, Naruto-kun, of course you'll receive lunch as well. Besides," she flashed him a soft smile. "I could never eat this much anyway unless I was really starving. I think I ate a bit too much yesterday." 

She was relieved that her stomach didn't growl to counter her statement. Naruto looked ready to protest. 

"Sakura-chan is right," Sasuke shattered Naruto's argument out of existence. "If you're too hungry to fight properly, you'll just jeopardize our teamwork."

The Haruno held out a piece of chicken securely squeezed between the ends of the sticks towards Naruto, giving him an assuring nod when he hesitated. "But-" 

"I can't sense Kakashi-sensei nearby," she persuaded, and finally the bound boy devoured the small piece of food with the speed of a chameleon catching its insect. 

Sasuke, who had taken to peering around for any glimpse of the Hatake, didn't even have time to yelp or warm his teammates before Kakashi materialized with a dark aura and a forebodingly crinkling eye. "Are you breaking my rules?" 

"Ack!" Naruto chocked on the rice he had been about to swallow, and Sasuke fell back with an incoherent splutter of _'but I couldn't sense him- he wasn't supposed to be there-'_

"Are you blatantly ignoring my orders?" His hands were on his hips, and he leaned forwards. The rays of sunshine didn't feel as warm against her skin anymore. "Why you-" 

"B-but we-" Sasuke started, eyes wide. "The dobe- h-he needed food-"  

"Yes, Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi fastened the brunt of his heavy gaze on the Uchiha, who abruptly started stuttering even more. 

"But we're a team-" Sakura started, and Naruto loudly vocalized his agreement - _Yes, yes, yes, yes! A t-team!_ \- as he beat his heels against the stump. 

"Yeah, we're all in this together!" Sasuke formulated with a hasty nod, scampering back just a little closer to the ' _yes-a team-yes-yes'_ hollering Naruto. 

"Is that so?" For a moment, Kakashi stared them all down and Sakura felt a tinge of worry before he brightened and the sun was warm again. "Then, you all pass!" 

_'Cha!'_

" _Wha_ \- but... we broke the rules!" Naruto exclaimed quizzically, although the prankster had never truly been one to follow the rules anyway. He halted his pounding in favor to stare at his lanky sensei. 

"That is true," Kakashi conceded. "In the ninja world, those who break the rules are regarded as scum. But those who abandon their friends are even worse than scum."

Naruto's azure eyes actually watered, a sound of _"Sensei's actually pretty cool-"_ escaping him, but Sakura wasn't sure. Next to the blond, Sasuke sagged with relief and a silly smile lighting his face up. She didn't think he had noticed the slip in visage, however, or maybe he just didn't care. Either way, the Uchiha was positively _glowing_. And it made something churn and twist in her gut when she realized that while she was certainly glad and relieved, she wasn't as gleeful as her teammates. Not quite.

"Dattebayo!" Naruto grinned, blinking away any unwanted tears and going back to excitedly pounding the stump with his heels.

"We did it." Sakura whispered, and finally there was that flicker in her heart that made her eyes brighten impossibly. "We actually did it- _Shannaro!_ " She jumped up, pumping a triumphant fist in the air.

Kakashi's eye crinkle had never seemed more genuine in her short, second life. "Meet me at this training ground tomorrow, at eight." He instructed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his navy ninja trousers. Naruto saluted, but didn't have time to screech _'Hai, sensei!'_ before the Hatake escaped an upcoming cheer-party from his new team with a well-timed signature shunshin. Naruto's exclamation died on his chapped lips, staring at the spot where his sensei had just stood with a befuddled expression.

He still needed to warm up to them. Still needed to let them close to his heart. Sakura blinked away a particle of dust too close to her eye, rubbing slightly with her knuckles. "I guess we're a team now, eh?" She smiled, eyes slanting ever so slightly at the lopsided quirk of her lips.

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed, but then scowled with narrowed, inky eyes. "Aniki is so much better than Kakashi-sensei, though. I even touched the bells, and he calls himself a Jounin!"

Sakura wanted to point out that nobody made Jounin on accident, and that it would hardly have been fair if Kakashi went all out against a fresh-almost-Genin.

Naruto beat her to the point. "Kaka-sensei is cool, don't you deny it, dattebayo! You're just grumpy cos y'got your ass kicked, like, big time, ya know! And-"

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke hissed. Though his skills were certainly at least as good as they had been as a graduate at twelve, his mastery of the impassive mask was far from perfect. The Uchiha tried to fight a mortified blush, partially failing.

"It's true, though, innit?" Naruto fought back, kicking a heel against the stump to get the point across.

"You're being ridiculous!" Sasuke's voice rose, fists balling and agitatedly meeting the blond's gaze. Then, he forcefully relaxed his tensed muscles and crossed his arms, huffing indignantly and an eyebrow twitching. "You didn't even come close to defeating him, loser, so I don't see why I should talk to you."

Naruto spluttered, fighting the ropes ensnaring him with vigor though his mind was solely focused on the raven boy. "Well, _you are_ , teme!"

Sakura stood up, brushing of any dust of her ashen pants before glancing at her two bickering teammates. "I think I'll leave now." She piped up, and had it not been for azure eyes flickering to her before getting distracted by a vicious Sasuke again, she would've been sure none of them had heard her. For a moment she watched the two, their words washing over her and embracing her despite their aggressive nature. _She was home_.

As she walked towards the bridge, she heard Sasuke cut the robes binding Naruto to engage a competition to see who was better at throwing kunai. "I'll beat you, dattebayo!" Naruto hollered in the background, accompanied by fresh, cool water rushing merrily underneath the bridge. The sun was warm against her skin, and for a moment, everything in the world seemed to be uncharacteristically good.

* * *

 

"Welcome home, Sakura-chan." Mebuki's clear voice rang throughout the house the second her daughter had closed the heavy, wooden door behind her. "And take a shower, I can smell you from the kitchen."

Sakura wanted to point out that such things were not possible, since walking into the house had been like walking into a wall of food-scents and Mebuki was standing at the very source of it, but decided against it. "I will, Kaa-chan. The food smells wonderful!"

And she meant it. After passing the bell test she had met Ino when walking through the park, and had ended up staying there talking to her best friend for hours until the sun had started setting, so apart from the lunch Kakashi had gifted them with and two nutrition bars, she had eaten nothing today. Sasuke and Naruto had both passed her on their way towards their own homes, the Uchiha scurrying towards the Clan compounds and Naruto had been scampering towards the suspicious direction of the slums.

Mebuki paused, then- "Thank you, Sakura-chan. Now go take that shower." The elder woman's voice had softened, however, and the rosette paddled up the stairs towards the bathroom with a light feeling inside. The silvery moon was rising at the darker skies, chasing away the last amber and yellow lights of the sunset.

She hastily discarded the sweaty clothes into the woven basket containing dirty laundry, and stepped into the clean white shower and heaved a blissful sigh as the cool, cleansing water cascaded down on her. The water at her feet had taken an odd tint as it washed away the dust and grime she had amassed during the day, and Sakura spared no time before scrubbing her skin with the soap until it almost had a pink hue. She didn't shampoo her hair -she had already done that yesterday- but stayed extra long in the shower and wasn't against stealing some of Mebuki's favorite coconut-scented conditioner.

Mebuki always insisted on buying vanilla or strawberry for her, but those were so classical and sweet that it made Inner want to gag. It was the type of scenting lotions she would've used as an Academy kid. (Fresher, less sickeningly sweet smelling shampoo's smelled better in battles too.)

Even when the water had stopped beating down onto her back, she stayed there for a few moments. If she wanted to defeat Zetsu, it would unfortunately have to be through sealing. And Sakura had never spent much time with seals, excluding the one she had tried to use one together with Shizune, Ino and Hinata to seal the Sanbi, and that hadn't ended well. No, she would need a strong seal, something almost like the one Naruto had used but not quite as taxing. She knew she'd never have the chakra reserves for that.

She'd have to study it.

Despite it all, Sakura had to smile. Somewhere deep in her heart, there was still a bookworm-paper-ninja waiting to be unleashed.

She wrapped a white towel around her lithe form, and rested the pads of four fingers against the smooth, foggy surface of the mirror above the marble sink. The circular traces that were left were in a manji formation. Sakura liked believing it was a representation of their team. 

* * *

_"We've only been a team for five days, and Sasuke-teme is already quitting on us?!"_

Naruto's good-morning greeting (which Sakura had all but drilled into him during training at the academy) was forgotten in the storm of his anger. Sakura blinked at the tanned finger pointed in her direction, straightening her back and blinking back any sleep clouding her senses. She had taken a small nap while waiting for Kakashi and Sasuke to appear, since she had come early after hurling Naruto out of bed to make sure he actually ate something other than ramen. And the trip down to his apartment had left her with even more Naruto-related things to write down in her little pink notebook.  

Sasuke nor Kakashi had arrived at the bridge yet, and Naruto was impatiently pacing around. Apart from the ever present chatter and chirping of the birds, rustling leaves and running water, the only thing audible was the soles of Naruto's sturdy sandals hitting the wooden planks. The merry bustling of Konoha seemed to have died down, a stark contrast compared to this morning when Sakura had headed through the market to come to the bridge. There were no distant, happy shouts originating from the parks -if Konoha was silent then at least _that_ should've been audible. Not even the Inuzuka dogs were barking up a fanfare. 

"Good morning, Naruto-kun," Sakura greeted, standing up. The wind combed its chilling fingers through her pink locks, yet to be warmed by the morning sun. "Kakashi-sensei is always late, so maybe Sasuke-kun realized that it would make no difference if he was half an hour or an hour late." 

Naruto wasn't pacified. "But the teme is _never_ late, dattebayo!" He insisted indignantly, scowling grumpily. 

Sakura felt something inside her freeze. Could it be- had she missed any last signs- she knew it would happen eventually and that she had been to late to stop the massacre, but- but- _already_? "Say, Naruto-kun, have you heard Sasuke-kun mention his family lately?" 

"Well, yeah! He keeps going on and on 'bout his stupid aniki, _Aticha_ or somethin'. You know what he always says-" The blond started, eyes brightening with flames of anger. 

"Yes, I'm sure the entire team knows very well how great Uchiha Itachi-san is according to Sasuke-kun. But, did Sasuke-kun mention anything unusual?" Sakura probed, glancing towards him with viridian eyes sharper than they should've. Naruto didn't notice, too immersed in his memories with electric eyes narrowed to slits. 

"I guess. We were talking after training, for once not arguing, and he said somethin' weird. It was nothing we went into, really. Apparently his cousin's missing. Chicha- Shishy? Can't remember the name. Some weird, old Uchiha name that hasn't been used for, like, millennia. After that he told me my name was stupid, so..." 

"Uchiha Shisui-" 

"Yeah, yeah! That's the one, dattebayo! Like, who calls his kid that! Wait- I think I asked him that," Naruto paused to recall the conversation, scratching the back of his sunny head. "Which is why he got offended and started sproutin' nonsense about my own name- I think he said his dad had been close to Grumpy Face Second and wanted to name his son something 'bout water. Y'know, the whole thing kinda ended with us barreling the other to the ground, s'not like I was payin' much attention to what the teme was saying after that! I mean, I'm Uzumaki Naruto and-"

So Uchiha Shisui was already dead?

Sasuke hadn't told her that. Well, _officially_ Shisui was currently missing, but everybody knew he was dead. Why hadn't Sasuke told her that? She knew the raven rarely talked about any other family than Itachi, but if such a rare case happened it would be to complain about Shisui. So why was he not telling her, and why had he only told Naruto on accident? Why couldn't he just tell them what was bothering him?

Now Shisui was dead and Sasuke was missing and the Village was silent and- and- Sakura balled her fists.

 _'Now Itachi-san is branded a traitor.'_ Inner's voice carried little assurance with it.

'If I had been reincarnated sooner, I might've been able to do something.' Sakura thought back, glaring down at the waters below. Naruto had gone silent, staring towards the village with his impossibly bright eyes betraying sizzling ire just underneath. But she could see worry as well. Unconsciously, he must've picked up on the negative atmosphere emanating from the mismatched houses and neighborhoods.

 _'You know very well that the Uchiha's plans for the coup d'état stems from dislike and anger decades old. What could a civilian-born Academy kid have done to prevent it? You'd have to be reincarnated into someone born at least fifteen years ago into a Clan to be able to do that, and such things sound like Orochimaru business.'_ Inner was frustratingly correct.

'I'm just scared that Naruto-kun, Kakashi-sensei and me being there for him won't be enough.' Sakura confessed, suddenly immensely glad this conversation was private. 'I don't want to him to go down that other path again-'

"Oi, Sakura-chan!" Naruto suddenly piped up, arms crossed over his orange clad chest. "I say we go check on him, expression tense. I have a bad feeling, dattebayo."

For a moment their eyes met, blue eyes not as bright as they usually were and the rosette's mouth thinned into a firm line. "Hai, that's a good idea."

They jumped towards the Uchiha compound in silence. The unyielding wind had warmed, yet was barely present anymore. The leaves were not dancing anymore, and while it usually made a serene picture, Sakura did not find any comfort in it. Naruto's feet hit the gritty ground, soon followed by hers as they sprinted down the road towards the Uchiha compound. Trees, verdant and still, stood on either side of the graveled way and provided shadows the wispy clouds could not manage.

The wall, adorned by evenly distributed Uchiha fans, was guarded by systematically placed ANBU. Naruto skidded to a reluctant halt when Sakura snagged his wrist in her iron grip. The ANBU closest to the gate had an eerily familiar chakra-

 _'Yamato-taichou,'_ Inner breathed, and Sakura ripped her stare from the familiar mop of brown tresses. Next to the rosette, Kakashi materialized in a puff of smoke. His eye, dark steel almost onyx, drooped even more. Naruto seemed to notice the absolute lack of crinkle.

"Kakashi-sensei," the Uzumaki mumbled hoarsely. "What's happened?"

"Hello, Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan."

The wind picked up, even if only minimally, and blew warm air originating from Sunagakure's deserts. Kakashi's ashen hair jutted out messier than usual. "Morning, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura spoke, beating back a cold feeling welling up inside of her. "Where's Sasuke-kun?"

The Jounin let his gaze rest on them for a few moments longer, and heaved a sigh that was lost in the momentary rustle of the leaves. The wind died down again.

"Why is it so silent here?" Naruto demanded. "Every time Sasuke-teme and I passed by, there were lots of people out there. Even the red-eyed creeps from the police force would lurk around. So _why_ \- why is it so empty?" His tanned fists were balled, eyes avoiding the telltale reddish-brown stains across the walls, the cracks and grazes left by kunai and shuriken. "Kakashi-sensei, _where is Sasuke-teme_?"

"He's not here, Naruto-kun." Kakashi finally said, and Naruto's eyes watered despite the rising anger in their blue depth and his chakra spiking precariously. The Hatake sensed the danger as well. "But don't worry, he's alive and uninjured." The blond's chakra calmed down, even if only a fraction.

"And the other Uchiha?" Sakura questioned, heart thumping painfully against her ribs. "Are they... are they _alive_?" She knew they weren't. She _knew,_ so why did she hope?

The sensei stayed silent for another moment, before resting a hand on Naruto's shoulder and weighing the other on her shoulder. "Fatalities happen, though this has been unheard of so far." He started, and Sakura was certain Kakashi saw flashes of his memories of Itachi in his own mind. "They're dead. There has been an attack."

Naruto shook his golden spikes, ripping himself away from Kakashi. "What about Shishy and Aticha, then? Aren't they, like, shinobi who are crazy strong?! They should protect their clan- and what about the police force? How could they all just be wiped out without anybody screamin' or noticing or- or..."

"Uchiha Shisui is dead, and has been for a few days." Kakashi's tone was deceptively soft, yet held a glacial undertone. "As for Uchiha Itachi... he is no longer in the village."

The wind picked up even more, stifling Naruto's " _Why_?" and drying Sakura's crystalline tears.

"Why don't we head towards the hospital instead?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are all marvelous! Thank you for all the comments, they're all very appreciated^^  
> Some (if not most) are probably sad that the Uchiha are dead (I certainly am T.T) and even though I wanted nothing more than to keep them alive (or at least keep Shisui alive), it would mess up the plot too much, because for once I already know the entire storyline on beforehand. Even if just a skeleton of it-.-
> 
> (Besides, if I did let all my favorite characters live, we'd have a grumpy Tobirama still alive and a whole bunch of other characters such as Deidara or Izuna running amok in my story^^)
> 
> I'm sorry if Kakashi was ittle out of character in this chapter; he still needs to warm up to them and in this timeline he has had four/five years less to process Minato's and Kushina's death than in Canon.... He's yet to be mended (Rewatching the series, I think he started mending _for real_ during the Wave fiasco mission, or at least around the Chuunin exams, although it took him up to the Fourth Shinobi War to truly accept and move on.)
> 
>  
> 
> ~~If you want me to save Shisui I already have an idea for it, so please just tell me if you want him to stay alive because I don't want him to die~~
> 
>  
> 
> Take care!


	6. Crinkled, White Bedsheets

**"""** **When a man learns to love, he must bear the risk of** **hatred.""" -Uchiha Madara**

* * *

The trip to the hospital was under an unspoken rule to not break the silence. Naruto, usually lively and brash, ran along over the rooftops at a speed he rarely used, jaw set stubbornly. His cerulean eyes held more dull fury and confusion than ever before, barely glazed with tears at all, and his gritty hands weren't even clenched.

At one point, when an ANBU sped past in a blur of uniform and mask, Naruto glanced at Sakura and she could see the question posed in his eyes. _Why? Why do people have to die?_ She knew he was asking her that. She pretended not to notice, emerald eyes strained on the building up ahead.

The rosette honestly didn't know. After the Fourth Shinobi War, time seemed to have dulled. New ninja came and took the older ones' places, not fully comprehending the horrors their predecessors had gone through. When thinking back about it, her life might as well have ended at her twenty-third. She stopped learning new skills, spending her time at the hospital to save people because that made her _happy_ , rarely leaving and often staying longer. Back in her own timeline, the Fifth Shinobi War had happened twenty-nine years after the Fourth and it had all been a hazy blur.

Fear. Anger. Asking herself how another war could've broken out when all Villages had been working so well in peace only a few years prior. She was the strongest kunoichi, or at least one of the strongest; everybody had an ideal opponent. Naruto had been angry. The youngest generation of ninja wanted more power for their own Village. Naruto had cursed the desire for power for contaminating the best. 

Inuzuka Hana had _died_ in that war. So had Chouji, who was so kind, and Tenten who threw herself in front of an attack aimed at Ino. Aoba, _Shizune-_ After the war... Sakura barely remembered those times. Following her hospital schedule, going home late, sometimes meeting up with the friends still living. Sakura didn't want to remember. Didn't want to remember the sickening cracks of ribs caving under her fists and blood smearing her skin. She barely did. They were all just images, like a bad dream that never truly faded away from her memory. There were moments of clarity; she remembered crying, remembered hugging Ino. Seeing Naruto start training Konohamaru for eventually claiming the title of Hokage. Most of the times there was nothing, as if somebody had decided to take a vacuum cleaner and suck her memories away. Sakura honestly didn't mind. It was as if the Fifth Shinobi War had never had happened, or as if it had been a book she read at best. As if she had never lived beyond the age of twenty-three. The rest of her life had never happened.

They walked into the hospital, Naruto tense and frowning. Kakashi didn't look out of the ordinary, but her trained eyes could detect the stiffness of his shoulders and that look in his eyes. Sakura swallowed back her tears. She may not remember half of her life properly, but she damn well remembered the first half.

 _'Thank you, Sakura, for everything.'_ Sasuke had told her. If it was up to her, she wouldn't allow him to say those words to her again in those circumstances. She wouldn't allow it. She felt Kakashi's heavy gaze glued to her back, but she pretended not to notice. She didn't think he suspected anything, _no_ , she knew he didn't. But she did know that she was the first civilian born to graduate this early. Such things had little to do with this massacre, however.

"We're here for Uchiha Sasuke, where is he?" Naruto inquired, desperate, slamming his fists down onto the counter in front of the secretary. The brunette glanced up at him, dark eyes widening slightly at his dangerously glittering blue pools. Then her eyes fell on the whisker-marks, and her face was set in stone.

"I'm afraid he's unavailable. You may leave now." She informed him with a nasty glower, telling him to _go away_. Naruto's back had never been so rigid before in his short life, and his eyes might as well have been spitting glacial, azure, acidic fire at the woman at the helpdesk. " _Today_."

"Like hell I will," he spat back with a barely contained growl. "He's my teammate, I know you usually let them in, dattebayo!"

The woman dismissively shook her familiar, silky tresses. Where had Sakura seen those before? Wait, wasn't this Hayakawa Kokoro's mother? "Your presence would do his recovery little good."

Naruto's anger drained away, hands falling to the side and eyes glazing over once again and looking so ready to either sink down on his knees and beg or to hurl himself over the white desk and pummel the brunette. Kakashi sighed, mildly annoyed, and Sakura felt something inside her snap. She was so  _done_ with this.

Her ears were buzzing, her chakra gathering in her hand to strengthen any blows, and she was so ready to do a Naruto and charge mindlessly that it almost strained her muscles to resist the urge. She stalked forwards, slamming her chakra-enhanced hand on the desk and just managed not to smile when it cracked and almost broke.

"Let me make this perfectly clear," she ground the words out as if they burned her tongue. "Either you let all of us in, or I'll report this treatment to the Hokage. I have no idea what you have against Naruto-kun-" _Lie_ , "-but he's the best fucking person I have met in a long time, _shannaro_! So unless there is a seriously good reason, such as Sasuke-kun being in a surgery at the moment, which a truly do _not_ believe, then the rules clearly indicate that teammates are allowed to visit."

There was a pregnant silence. Then, the brunette Hayakawa woman sighed and averted her gaze with eyes brimming with- _with_ \- "You may find him in room 426." 

The fourth floor was reserved for psychological issues and specified internal damage, the latter often the result of a water-style ninjutsu. Sakura tried to capture the woman's stare, but was unable to. Those dark topaz eyes, almost black, still glimmering with hatred and anger and- _and_ - 

"Arigato gozaimasu." She bowed her head before following her team's retreating forms. The air, previously cool and light, suddenly felt heavy and dark despite the airy and bright lobby. Before following her sensei's lanky form up the wide stairs, her emerald eyes aught the woman's dark ones. 

Dark topaz filled with thunderclouds of _pain_. 

* * *

Sasuke's room was empty when they opened it, window opened and curtains blowing as the wind carried more solitude with it. Sakura saw an image of herself from her alternate timeline, short rosy hair framing a naive face and a daffodil held in her pale hands. Her face isn't as naive now, despite her younger age, and she most certainly didn't go and visit the Yamanaka flower shop on the way here. 

Her hands felt ridiculously empty, and she hid them behind her back in a vain attempt to ignore the elephant in the room. Sasuke was awake, the marble skin under his eyes bruised by lack of sleep and eyes so hauntingly hollow that it made her want to cry again. 

She didn't. Nor did Kakashi. 

Naruto did. Thick, crystalline tears streaked his cheeks though he cried in silence. "Sasuke-teme," His voice didn't crack, and that made it all so much worse. "Sasuke, why is your aniki gone? Why is everybody dead?" 

Her hands itched, perhaps to whack the blond for rubbing salt in the wound and being insensitive, or perhaps to comfort the Uchiha. Kakashi sighed, and seemed to have a hard time refraining from deliberately stepping on Naruto's foot. For a moment his dark, metallic eyes were glued to the floor, discerning one polished white tile from the other, before wandering up to study the raven. 

Sasuke, sickly pale, finally made a move to indicate he was aware of their existence, turning his head to fasten his haunting, onyx pools on Naruto. They stared at each other for a moment, the blond shifting his weight from one leg to another, and then they simultaneously slowly turned their heads away. Sakura had a feeling they did that odd no-talking-let's-stare communication guys tended to do. 

She wasn't certain how it worked, but Naruto seemed to be grasping something and wiped his tears away. Kakashi sat down, claiming the only seat next to Sasuke's bed. Sakura saw a twitch in his fingers, meaning he must've almost reached for his Icha Icha on habit. She slumped down at the edge of the bed, white bedsheets crinkling and rippling, and she heaved a sigh. Sheets longer a smooth, untainted white. 

Naruto abruptly laid down next to Sasuke, kicking his shoes off in the process and entwined his tanned fingers behind his sunny head. His left elbow was almost tickled by Sasuke's inky strands. "You better get well soon, 'cause you're missing out on training, dattebayo," he mumbled hoarsely, though it lacked any bite. There wasn't anything else to say. 

Kakashi's finger twitched again. 

He must've been indecisive, to betray his actions twice like that. Or perhaps he wasn't quite as guarded around them anymore. Sakura found herself fond of that idea. She wondered if his _How To Train A Ninja Team - All Inside Tips_ had any clues about situations like these. She figured that book didn't exist after all, though it didn't surprise her. 

"You'll need all the money you can get from the missions now on to fund your livings until you make Chuunin and revive white inheritance," Kakashi finally spoke up. "So getting better is, really, your best option." 

Sakura wanted to hit all the guys. Especially the most emotionally stunted one, who as a sensei should be saying better things. "I'm sorry for your loss," she told Sasuke, sincerely downcast. "If there is anything I can do to help, please tell me. You're not alone, Sasuke-kun, we're here with you." 

Naruto's elbow gently nudged Sasuke's pale cheek as he shifted. It was probably intentional. Kakashi's finger didn't twitch, and Sakura let her balled hands fall to her sides. "Yeah, we _are_ a team." Naruto agreed, and Kakashi hummed. 

"Then, as your sensei, I suppose I will have to step up my game and train you a bit more so you can become stronger. Can't have my kawaii little genin unable to defend themselves." He stated flatly, and she was certain he had known that would placate Sasuke the most. She swallowed back her tears, and found herself smiling a teary smile because _they were a team after all_. 

"Become... stronger?" Uchiha Sasuke's voice was weak, cracked and downright miserable, but he said something at last and it made Naruto's tears restart their travel across his face. He still didn't let any audible sob escape him. 

The sole girl blinked away flashes of her past (future?), ' _There is no such thing as hope! The concept of hope is nothing more than giving up, a word that holds no true meaning._ ' Obito had proclaimed that. The flutter in her chest once again told her otherwise. 

"Hai, together." Kakashi uttered, and Sasuke relaxed, even if only minimally. Naruto's face got blotchier, and Sakura was surprised to find that a tear had fled her left eye as well. She hastily wiped it away. Silence ensued. 

No. The silence wasn't there. Not just yet. A clock ticked away on the wall, its soft sounds echoing off the walls and seemingly growing louder and harsher for each passing second. 

_Tick... tick... tick..._

Outside, a bird flew past and chirped loudly as an Academy kid attempted to throw a stone after it, yet missed by far. The curtains fell still as the breeze died down for a moment, and then continued fluttering in the wind as it picked up. 

_Tick... tick... tick..._

The blond Uzumaki swallowed audibly, and Sasuke finally moved. Even if only barely. Outside, a nurse hurried by with quick, small steps. Shizune's and Tsunade's absence was suddenly a void itself. The Haruno crossed her ankles. 

_Tick... tick... tick..._

The Uchiha stirred again, eyes just barely glancing at the clock with an erratic glint that didn't last long. Kakashi leaned back in his seat, closing his eye and seemingly lost in thought. The bell at the Academy rung, indicating classes were starting. 

_Tick... tick... tick..._

"Do you want me to destroy the clock?" Sakura finally inquired. Kakashi's eye cracked open again for a second before shutting again. In the background, somebody played a melancholic tune on a piano, its sound carried in with the breeze. The sun illuminated the verdant trees outside. 

_Tick... tick... tick..._

Sasuke nodded, a small movement. Naruto's azure pools studied his friend for a moment before returning to staring the roof. Sakura was still for a moment, before standing up and grabbing the small, empty, plastic nightstand next to the bed. For a moment she checked to make sure there were no medicines left in it, before heaving it up and hurling it at the black-rimmed clock. 

It crashed audibly against the white wall before falling down in a broken heap, taking the clock with it. The room was silent. Sasuke's face didn't look quite as tense. Naruto accidentally made an odd, choked sound before wiping his eyes. 

"Oi, loser," Sasuke's voice was cracking and still as weak as before, but no longer as miserable. "A... a ninja- a ninja doesn't... a ninja doesn't- cry."

Naruto took a deep, ragged breath, sitting up straight and purposely letting his elbow his the Uchiha's face in the process. He wiped his eyes furiously, and then indignantly crossed his arms. "I just got something in my eyes, that's all." 

Kakashi's finger twitched violently. 

* * *

"Do you think the teme likes dango?" Naruto asked two days later as they walked towards the hospital. The team was freshly showered, as the entire morning and lunch had been spent at the training ground, and Sakura dragged her fingers through her still moist hair as she eyed the parlor. 

"No," Kakashi deadpanned as an image of Itachi with his dango flashed before his eyes. "I don't think Sasuke-kun would enjoy dango." 

The blond sighed, but didn't object as they continue on. "I think he'd like onigiri," Sakura proposed with a small smile, and Naruto perked up before scampering down the road. 

"I'm gonna stand in the line, so long!" He hollered energetically, and Kakashi's eye crinkled as he watched the young Uzumaki skid along. The smile died out as Mitarashi Anko came jumping out of the dango booth with a deceptively sunny smile. 

"Ah, I thought I recognized your voice!" She chuckled and waved an empty stick around before throwing it towards a bin and ambled towards Kakashi and Sakura without checking if the dango-stick made it. "Taking the team out for a walk?" The way she said it made it sound like the team might as well have been a dog, and the woman laughed loudly at her own statement. 

"Hello, Anko-chan," Kakashi greeted, but the other Jounin payed him no mind. Instead, Sakura found herself face to face with a brightly grinning Anko, though she didn't take a step back despite the close proximity. 

"So you finally decided to stop dodging the Genin teams old man Hokage is throwing at you?" Anko laughed with a mirthful glance at Kakashi, messing up Sakura's hair and then stood back at her full height. Compared the other, busty, young woman, Sakura despaired her non-existent chest. Something would come in due time, but memories of the comments still _stung_. Even if only a little. 

"Yes, I figured I could take better care of them than somebody else, like you, could." Kakashi retorted, not entirely unkindly but still out of character to Sakura, and the woman laughed boisterously. 

"You're just down 'cause I can handle my sake better than you!" She chortled merrily, and then turned to the girl with dangerously gleaming eyes. "You should'a seen him yesterday. Wasted, that's what I'd call it!" 

"Thank you, Anko-chan. It's very thoughtful of you to fill my kawaii little Genin in," Kakashi spoke, dismayed, though his eye crinkled somewhat warmly. He glanced towards Naruto's obnoxiously orange form. "Maa, maa, will you look at that! My other kawaii genin is waiting for me. See you." 

He didn't hesitate to walk past the Mitarashi and wave at Naruto. Anko followed his gaze, and then brightens precariously again. "Oh yeah, that's right. Your last little Genin is at the hospital, isn't he?" She recalled, and the made her way up to Kakashi again, throwing arm around his shoulders. 

Sakura wasn't able to hear what they said, but a minute later Kakashi was aggravated and Anko was strutting back to her dango. His dark eye closed into a smile. "At least I grew enough backbone to get a genin team." The Hatake vocalized lowly, and Sakura _knew_ she wasn't supposed to have heard that. Anko stiffened marginally before pretending not to have heard him. 

As she hurried up to walk next to her sensei towards the impatient Uzumaki, she folded her expression into a mildly curious one and pretends not to have heard his parting words. "Who was that?" 

"Oh, that was Mitarashi Anko." He replied easily, without any animosity. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "She's a Tokubetsu Jounin. She was in my Academy Class." 

The words _'when the Third Shinobi War started, right?'_ burned on the back of her tongue, but she kept her mouth shut. Naruto seemed to be shining as they reached him, grabbing ahold of the ashen-haired man's sleeve and tugging excitedly, much to the Hatake dismay. He gently pried the tanned fingers loose, though the blond seemed to barely notice. 

"Say, say, what kind of onigiri d'you think he'd like?" Naruto asked, jutting his thumb in the direction of a proudly displayed menu next to the vendor. Sakura smiled softly, and her viridian eyes skimmed across the texts. 

"Anything with tomatoes," she shrugged amicably. "As long as we stay away from nattou and sashimi, we should be fine." 

"Yosh!" Naruto exclaimed, clapping his hands together, though then faltering when glancing at the middle-aged man selling onigiri. "Uh," for a moment, the blond looked ready to say something or object, but then laughed awkwardly. "Right, let's order it." 

"How can I help you?" The man turned his friendly visage to the three of them, though his face quickly took on the off-white color of his hair at the sight of Naruto. The blond pretended not to be deterred as the man abruptly brushed him off in order to reorganize two cups of water and bring them to an other table. Kakashi cleared him throat, and the vendor reluctantly turned to stare at the lanky young man. 

"We'd like five with tomato filling," he informed the elder man, not completely cordial. The vendor scrutinized the Jounin for a moment, as if weighing his options, before nodding with a smile that could've been a grimace. Next to Sakura, Naruto had gone unnaturally still, hands in his pockets and finding the ground beneath the soles of his feet immensely interesting. 

"Coming right up," he replied after a few more heartbeats of tense silence as the man started working with the rice. The rosette let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Behind them, as if newcomers were bound to pop up this particular day, a surprised voice blurted out; 

"Sakura-chan? Naruto-kun?" 

The two Genin whipped around, and Naruto's face lit up even more than Sakura's did. "Ino-chan, long time no see!" The Uzumaki quipped. 

"Yeah, I know, right!"

Yamanaka Ino had started growing her hair out, the silky platinum tresses up in a high ponytail with side-swept bangs resting against her pale forehead. She wore a simple lavender blouse reminiscent of the one she donned during her Genin days, tucked into a pale silver skirt with tight, mauve shorts reaching just above her knees underneath. Her blue eyes widened, a luminous smile spreading across her face. 

"Ino-chan, don't you have classes now!?" Sakura demanded, not quite anxious, and crossed her arms as the other girl giggled merrily. 

"No, our class has an outdoor exercise right now," Ino shook her head, and then leaned close to the rosette conspirationally. "Wait here a moment, I'll be back in a minute." 

Sakura nor Naruto had any time to inquire why exactly they had to wait, before Ino bolted down the street as if the Raikage himself was after her, ponytail whipping behind her as she disappeared amongst the people. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, dark eye glimmering as he leaned against the wall next to the shop. "A friend?" 

"Hai!" Naruto yipped happily. "Her name is Yamanaka Ino, she's really nice, dattebayo! A bit bossy, though." 

Sakura smiled, a wide and genuine tug of her lips because she was _just so happy_ that Ino was there. Ino, who was bossy and friendly and protective and one of Naruto's best friends. Naruto's first friend, excluding herself. "She's my best friend," she told Kakashi, who, as expected, aah-ed with a thoughtful nod of his head. 

"Is Anko-san your friend?" Sakura then questioned, and Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and scrunched his nose up. 

"Who?" 

"Oh, you could say that. Yeah, Anko-san's my friend," Kakashi decided, fishing up his Icha Icha while ignoring Naruto's petulant glare. 

"Who's this Anko?" 

"She's a Tokubetsu Jounin. Kakashi's knows her." Sakura finally clarified, and the vendor cleared his throat with a bag of onigiri in his hand. Naruto jumped, surprised. 

"Here you go," he grunted, and the green-eyed girl reached out to take the paper bag from him. It smelled good. She and Naruto were more than happy to let Kakashi handle payment, and the two Genin took a few steps away just to make sure their sensei wouldn't expect them to pay up as well. They had done that the previous days; it was the Hatake's turn today. 

"What d'you think made Ino-chan run like that?" He finally wondered, scratching the back of his golden spikes. "Must have been somethin' important, dattebayo!" 

"I dunno," she shrugged again, relaxed, but the corrected herself. "No, actually, I think she's getting flowers." 

For a moment, he looked confused, befuddlement clouding his eyes before he nodded. "Yeah, probably for Sasuke-teme." A tufty cloud covered the sun, casting a shadow over the neighborhood. 

Not even a minute later, Ino was back and Sakura's theory was unsurprisingly correct. She handed Sakura the bright red rose, and the Haruno could only think about Sai for a moment. "Give this to Sasuke-kun, alright? Tell him to get better soon, and that he has my visit to look forwards to this evening!" Ino's icy blue pools twinkled with stars again. 

The rosette nodded, and Kakashi pushed away from the wall and pocketed his book again. She swallowed, and hoped it wasn't visible, "I will." She gave her friend a close-eyed smile before following a waving Naruto and her sensei down the street towards the hospital. Ino stayed behind, and something in Sakura didn't sit quite right for a few moments. 

Then, Ino did an Ino and made it all heartbreakingly better. 

"Don't think I'll lose to you, Sakura-chan! Even if the massacre resulted in the graduation age being restricted, you can bet that I'll catch up to you!" The Yamanaka's voice carried across the street, and Sakura stiffened for a moment before continuing to walk. The grin that stretched her lips had never felt as genuine before. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys, you're all amazing T.T Your comments all mean so much --- I know, I'm being so original right now. So I'll just cut the chase. 
> 
> 1, Uchiha Shisui will live^^ Eventually. I have it all planned out, though he will remain supposedly 'dead' so it all fits into the storyline I have thought of. 
> 
> 2, About the Fifth Shinobi War; when I mentioned it in an earlier chapter, I had intended to erase it. But I forgot. So now it's there. I had, at first, intended for Sakura to be 'reincarnated' after dying in the Fourth Shinobi War, though I changed my mind since I'm not very good at writing angst and it would make her scheming more urgent and desperate to change the future. However, since she died after experiencing two wars and so much more, and that should make her SUPERWOMAN incarnate.  
> But I'm not good at writing over-powered characters either. (There are a lot of things I'm not good at.) So I think it's logical the brain tries to protect itself and makes most of her life a blur. So, while I think Sakura is a little OOC in my story, because I'm just a fanfic writer and not the original awesomeness, I try to make her as in-character as possible under these fiasco circumstances. (And, yeah, I know that Kakashi didn't make the best impression in this particular chapter-.-)
> 
> 3, Love interests. In this story, ultimately she'll end up with Kakashi for real, just like Naruto with Hinata. Before that, however, I had some other plans. You might've noticed that I for some obscure and ridiculous reason added Hoozuki Mangetsu into the mix. They won't love each other. They won't even like each other. But odd things happen and the future changes and odd circumstances arise. Eventually, she might have _one_ boyfriend before Kakashi, but I haven't decided that one yet.  
>  Enough of these spoilers.
> 
> 4, I have (fortunately or unfortunately, I do not know) (re)discovered the fabulous wonders called genderbender fanfics.  
> I know. Unhealthy.  
> But I've become a sucker for strong, female main characters who kick ass and swear. Female Uzumaki Naruto, female Edward Elric... even female Natsu Dragneel. Let's not forget female Okumura Rin. So, because I'm most certainly the obsessive, yandere type who rewatches the same episode 17592 times because OH MY GAWD, this takes time from my writing.  
> I need to get my shit together. 
> 
> Take care!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuse for my late update. None. 
> 
> So here's the chapter, at least? Finally the plot will start to slowly roll, each small difference at the time. The chapter feels kind of short compared to other stories I write, but it's pretty packed and the length off approximately the same to some other chapters in this fic. Enjoy!

Uchiha Sasuke was released from the hospital two weeks later under strict conditions for the first few weeks preached by a nurse with hair the color of green parakeets. 

"Within the coming two weeks, no missions with violence or fighting," she instructed over her half-moon glasses, all professionalism and cool, her voice unyielding steel covered by a threadbare cover of softening moss. "No henges into Uchiha Itachi, nor any other dead relative-" 

Sakura was relieved Sasuke wasn't in the room, because mentioning Itachi in front of him now was probably not be the best idea. 

"-no dango recommended, he threw them all out the window when it was served," the nurse continued, resting her intense glare on every one of them, and Naruto rubbed the back of his neck as he averted his azure gaze. "Gentle training at first, no genjutsu for a week, and _be attentive_." 

"No need to worry," Kakashi spoke up, almost cordial but not quite, his eye-smile decidedly amused. "We'll take good care of him." 

Sakura thought that was proof of his emotional stunted-ness and oblivion towards kids. 

"Yeah, and then we'll all kick Itachi's ass when we're good enough," Naruto blurted out vehemently, and had been about to flinch back again hadn't it been for the small smile twitch at the nurse's lips. He grinned back bashfully. A smile flirted with the corner of the rosette's lips for a moment, thankful that in this new team, secrets weren't kept from each other to the same extent. She'd probably have to tell them she had a split personality at some point, but the I-am-secretly-reborn-details weren't exactly required. She hoped Naruto's jinchuuriki status would be revealed in a softer manner than in her original timeline ( _deathlossblood_  and she barely remembered anything-). 

"That's all very well, but it would be advisable to wait until he has recovered more," the nurse sniffed flippantly, and with a nod she turned on her heel and briskly marched out to retrieve Sasuke. Naruto seemed ready to jump after her to see his friend sooner, but miraculously managed to restrain himself. 

Kakashi was reading his Icha Icha again, much to his student's chagrin, but didn't look as interested as usual. Sakura was certain he had been 'reading' the same sentence for a while now, without moving on. The rosette let her gaze wander around the room, seeing people she recognized and some she didn't, though she regarded the Hayakawa at the desk with a jaded frown.

"Aww, what's takin' her so long?" Naruto whined as the clock ticked on, but then grinned. "Sakura-chan, whaddaya say, let's go get him ourselves!"

"I think that's a pretty bad idea," she responded gently. "For all we know, he's just coming out from the shower and therefore late. Or maybe being examined a last time-"

"The we just gotta save him from the medics," he insisted. Sakura's brow knitted, vexed, and narrowed her viridian eyes.

"If he is at a checkup, it's very important not to stress the doctors unless you want them to make a fatal mistake," she chided, remembering all the times he had abruptly barged into the room whilst she was examining someone. Naruto faltered briefly.

"I guess the makes sense," he paused, and then crossed his arms. "But what if it _isn't_ an examination? We oughta save him-"

"Don't be ridiculous," she shot back. "Be patient, we don't want to interrupt something important."

"Important?" He echoed, doubtful, and scoffed. "Shouldn't they have done everything important a while ago already?"

She flicked the back of his head. "Baka, if it takes time, it's better to wait."

"But-"

"Ah," Kakashi gently cut off, turning to the opened door to the side. "You're looking better, Sasuke-kun."

The two teammates turned to face the newcomer. 

"You definitely look more healthy, I'm glad you're well enough to come back to the team," Sakura agreed with a relieved smile. His skin didn't look as waxy anymore, and the dark bags that had haunted the skin under his eyes were gone. The sparkles in the inky pools were missing too, however, though they didn't posses the same shards of ice and malicious darkness that they had held during his teens in her original timeline.

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto exclaimed with an elated grin. "What took you so long, were the medics _that_ persistent?"

There was a moment of silence, and then a faint smirk curled at the corners of his lips. "You have no idea, dobe." 

* * *

The smirk was slapped from Uchiha Sasuke's face when Naruto wiped the floor with him for the first time. A well-aimed kick had done the trick and sent the raven flying into a thick tree, the collision making leaves fall to the ground, albeit at a more leisurable pace than Sasuke himself.

"Hahaha, and you call yourself a genius!" Naruto teased as he helped his friend up. The Uchiha would've answered weren't it for the fact that he had just literally eaten dirt, but still made a valid effort to fire an insult at the blonde while spitting out earth. Sakura tried not to get too distracted as she walked across the water -her chakra control wasn't perfact yet.

"You're supposed to go easy on him, Naruto-kun," Kakashi informed placidly, single eye glued on Icha Icha's letters, and azure eyes widened with disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?! I _was_ going easy on him-"

Sasuke was both angered and insulted at that, and Sakura was hardly surprised when the raven initiated another fight. The rosette tried to keep her attention on the calm waters beneath her soles, almost falling in when Naruto let out a surprised squawk as Sasuke prooved to still be able to use his _Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu_. The blond was quick to jump out of the way for the fireball, trying not to seem reluctanly impressed at the scorchmarks it left across the ground.

A fish swam by, its scales glittering in arrays of silver and sapphire blue, and Sakura turned her viridian eyes to the sky, wishing that the moment would never end. The world seemed unnaturally good for a moment.

Hours passed like a whirlwind, and when Kakashi called for the last match the three students were sweaty, bruised, scraped and had all rolled in the dust once too much. The sinking sun had colored the sky in lavender and amber, blurred together like a messy painting, birds and animals quieting down as night approached. Shadows once again sretched towards the moon, and Sakura imagined Shikamaru was being forced to work on his Kage techniques by his mother.

"C'mon, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned exuberantly as he got into his fighting stance -a rather offensive form with a strong root. She sighed, but smiled as she got into her own stance -a form meant to easily go from offensive to defensive. "I'll win this time, dattebayo!"

"Then give it your best," she replied, and the small smile curved into a shrewd smirk as he charged not a moment later, shuriken whirring towards her and glinting a bloody red in the evening light. She dodged them with a graceful sidestep, bringing her arm up to stop the incoming kick meant to collide with her head, the blow rippling through her limp like a small quake. She jumped back, using the momentum of the strong blow to come further away.

Naruto didn't hesitate to advance further, gaining ground as he sent one blow after another, which Sakura blocked with relative ease (he was stronger, but she was just a tad faster, but not fast enough to send a punch between his). There was no rythm in his fight, no pattern, and it made him just as unpredictable as in her original timeline. She redirected one punch instead of blocking it, making him come closer and in range for a knee to the stomach.

He managed not to double over or vomit, clumsily jumping back to give himself another few seconds to regain his breath. The rosette didn't let him. She sent a spinning kick his direction in mid-air, which he narrowly ducked away from, and used his crouching position to send a kick to the stomach that she couldn't evade. The impact as his sole brutally collided with her solar plexus made her eyes widen as her body cramped together.

The rosette was airborne for a weightless moment, soaring upwards without any comprehension of where anyone was and a struggle to breathe. There was a brief moment where she had eyecontact with Naruto, a brief moment of knowing where he was, and that was all she needed. Sakura made the handsigns for the genjutsu almost on instinct, still falling backwards. "Iya Eda Kataki no Jutsu."  

Naruto stiffened, azure eyes blinking for a moment before widening in horror as he stared at his -perfectly normal- body. It seemed to take him a moment before realizing that he was in a genjutsu meant to make it _appear_ like his limbs were melting of him, though his mind and nervous system were alreday convinced, rendering him unable to form a helping handsign to release the genjutsu.

Sakura landed softly on the grass next to a boulder, feather light, eyes trained on the unmoving blond. Kakashi rested a hand on her shoulder, eye crinkling, and that alone was praise enough. "Well fought, Sakura-chan."

Her mouth curved upwards into a toothy smirk, all crowing accomplishment, emerald eyes glittering triumphantly. 'Shannaro.' 

* * *

Their first mission outside the Village was the day after the end of the nurse-preached two weeks and, incidentally, a C-rank. They had to guard a secretary on his way to Land of Whirlpools, where his boss waited and Team Seven would be relieved by an ANBU platoon specializing in fuuinjutsu (the fact that those ninja were most likely the only ones with knowledge of seals apart from the Hokage, Jiraiya and Kakashi was an unspoken fact). Apparently it was some business setting up a camp there for a week, studying architecture. 

The secretary himself was a slender young man called Kamoto Daiyuya, whose most noticeable trait was the unusually long nose firmly planted among his otherwise subtle and elegant features. Dark hair was neatly combed to fall around his sharp cheekbones, dark green eyes ringed by faint bags. Kakashi had barely finished his introduction before he asked; 

"Do you mind if I smoke?" 

"Wha-" Naruto started slowly, and then carelessly shrugged. "Uh, I dunno, I don't mind. My neighbor does, anyway." 

"As long as you don't do it in unfitting times," Kakashi allowed before Sasuke could bluntly tell Daiyuya the negative. Sakura gave the cigarette a distasteful look, her inner medic scowling at the repugnant thing; she had died just before she had been able to prove they were bad things. 

"No, no, of course not. As soon as you tell me, I'll stop," Daiyuya agreed easily, and his murky eyes skimmed over them with casual scrutiny. "Uchiha Sasuke-kun, Uzumaki Naruto-kun, and Haruno Sakura-chan."

The rosette felt a sudden rush of relief welling up in her at the realization that he had no idea Naruto was a jinchuuriki, and her features softened fractionally. Naruto confirmed his guess with a loud " _Dattebayo_!" and Sasuke ended up huffing and telling the blond he was a loud, obnoxious dobe. 

"And you're a stubborn bastard who-"

Kakashi patted both of their heads and smiled apologetically at Daiyuya. "Kids these days." 

Sakura was carefully watching the secretary, just in case he ended up harboring an I-won't-tell-you-about-enemies-Tazuna-style secret, but found nothing odd or uncomfortable in his narrow features when he laughed, all acceptance and ease. Nothing hinted he could perhaps keep an important detail hidden, so Sakura decided to let it go. Not all first C-ranked missions outside the village needed to be like the one she had gone through, after all. 

* * *

Naruto gaped at the verdant landscapes encircling Konoha the moment their squad left through the front gates. Sakura had packed extra provisions, knowing that living off the standard issued meals granted by the Village -dried strips of meat and fruit, nutrition bars, vitamin pills, carb bread- grew dull and tasteless within two days of having the same meal twice or thrice a day. In addition she had stuffed an extra pouch with shuriken, senbon, ninja-wire and kunai into her bag, as well as needle and thread to sew any potential tears in clothes back together and a first aid kit. 

"First time outside the Village?" Sakura asked even though she knew the answer. Behind her, Sasuke, too, seemed absorbed in staring at the surroundings, walking next to Daiyuya with an unreadable expression. 

"Yeah, dattebayo," Naruto confirmed, a breathy laugh smiling from chapped lips as he bounded forth. It was a beautiful day, a chilly breeze from the south-east ruffling hair and leaves until everything seemed to rustle and snap around them as though the forest was a single living organism, the sky a clear azure only a shade lighter than her blond teammate's eyes, the sun a distant, bright ball in the sky, the rays almost golden white and no longer quite as burning as they'd been a few weeks ago. Summer was at an end. 

"Same here," Sakura lied, a little at least, because in this new life it really _was_ her first time outside the village. Then she asked, just in case it'd be on Naruto's or Sasuke's mind and because it had weighed heavily onto herself the first time around; "Kakashi-sensei, do you think there'll be any trouble?" 

"No, I wouldn't think so," he answered after a moment of regarding them all, almost pensive, but not because of the question. "It's a C-rank. We're here in case there are any bandits on the way. If there'd be chances of meeting other ninja on the way, it'd be at least a B-rank, depending on the estimated situation." 

"What do we do if there's some band o'idiots who wanna kill us?" Naruto blurted out, glancing back at his lanky teacher, his smile a little odd and his eyes seeing things from his past. "Do we- do we kill them?" 

Sakura stiffened at the question. Perhaps hearing of, no, _seeing_ , the Uchiha Compound just after the massacre had broken some of the light, being confronted by such a side of humanity and reality at his age. The Naruto she had known had never liked killing anybody. Had never asked if that was what they needed to do. Sasuke glanced up at Kakashi as well. 

And Kakashi seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he was walking with three children who had never killed or even been in a situation of being ordered to murder before, and before Sakura could remind herself that Kakashi was more emotionally stunted than normally to cam herself or simply answer instead, he answered; "Well, yes of course, we're ninja." 

Sasuke stared ahead again, his childish features thoughtful. Naruto looked like he wanted to protest but bit down onto his tongue to halt any words, fists balling at his side. Sakura shot Kakashi a sharp look over her shoulder, wanting to tell him something along the lines of _you insensitive idiot_ , but only heaved a sigh instead. 

"Doesn't it depend on the situation?" She probed, Naruto looking just a little hopeful in an odd and peculiar way, as though he wanted to hear there could be exceptions but didn't want to know the answer anyway, if only to live by his own rules. Daiyuya stayed cool and unaffected as a cucumber, smoking leisurely and admiring a flock of small red birds fluttering between the branches. Vapors curled up into the air like gray mist, coiling and uncoiling, higher and thinner, dancing shadows rendered bleak by sunlight. 

"I suppose," he started in his typical slow and easy way, "if they're already fleeing or ignore us we leave them alone. If they attack we fight back until they're all dead or have fled. Simple." 

"Have you ever killed anybody?" Naruto asked, staring at the road with that odd look on his tanned face. Sasuke stayed firm beside Daiyuya. Sakura hoped Kakashi had read somewhere how to act around children. Only- they weren't children anymore. They were shinobi, kunoichi, ninja. 

There was a pause, and then- 

"Yes," he answered finally. "I have." 

It was the end of that conversation. 

* * *

 Sakura should have known better. The mission could've been flawless; they had safely taken Kamoto Daiyuya to the border of the Land of Whirlpools, had started their return, not even a gang waiting anywhere behind the bushes. Even if there had been any luring dangers, no lowlifes had wanted to attack a ninja escort. At some point there had been a suspicious murmur behind rocks and a shuffling sound, as though a small group had retreated back further form the road, but apart from that there'd been no sign of anything or anyone dangerous.

The way back was at a faster pace now that roads and civilian paces were no longer necessary, Kakashi teaching them how to jump from tree to tree the hard way, claiming trial and error was the best teacher but still taking plenty of breaks to allow rest and recovery. Sakura was a little bruised from the first few minutes, but after getting the hang of it for the second time in her life it had been easy. Naruto had struggled the most at first, easily blasting himself straight from the tree or simply tripping off, but in the end he and Sasuke had both learned during a race to see who could reach the clearing fastest. Team Seven made camp there for the night. 

They were traveling not too far from the coast bordering to Kiri. Now during peaceful times, it should not have been anything worth of taking note of, but Sakura had trouble sleeping. She had probably fought here, at some point. The sky was a canvas of inky darkness sprinkled with starts like liquid diamonds, the moon a sickle of pale silver. 

Kakashi and Naruto were asleep. Sasuke had the second watch, currently awake, while Sakura had just finished hers. Only- 

"Need to pee," she lied to him unapologetically in a small whisper, a little sheepish when his ears turned pale pink, and started heading in the direction of the salty sea breeze and distant roll of the waves, the minutes of walking through the sleeping forest calming but not enough. As she jumped up into a tree to overlook the dark vastness of the ocean, the moonlight reflecting against the calm waters, she almost instantly stiffened, smothering any trace of her chakra. She had gone further from camp than she'd originally estimated, believing the sea had been nearer and looking for a clam picture of serenity to enjoy, and her senses tingled at the sight of the four shadows standing in the shallow waters where the sea met the stony beach. 

In the faint moonlight, she could discern the colors of dark gray, almost black, and an infamous dull pale blue. Kiri-nin. What on earth were they doing in the Land of Fire, huddling like that as though they didn't have permission. Her rational side said to fetch Kakashi. Her other side said that by then the Kiri-nin would be gone without a trace; it was a strategic place for a get-together, the sea always washed away chakra traces more easily than wind or rain. 

Carefully, forcing and taxing her chakra control, she enhanced her hearing abilities while trying to keep her signature nonexistent. 

"-already told you, the deal is off, Yagura will remain as Mizukage and the two of you will either do well to run for your lives like the miserable little squeakers you are, or get killed here and now." 

Sakura stiffened more. If she squinted, she could make out the formation of the quartet. They weren't a group. It was two against two. 

"But Ao-sama promised to pay if we assassinated him, you were there, you're on his side-" 

"Things have changed, Ao-sama is back in Yagura's good graces. For old times sake, I'll give you a fair warning-" the speaker's voice was mocking, as though the Yagura-loyal nin would love for the two assassins to stay and allow him to kill them, his tone like honey and slime, "you cannot return to Kiri anymore, you'll be squashed like bugs. If we fight now, the two of us can still flee back safely, but the two of you will have to get through the Land of Fire. Good luck with that." 

She understood. At the slightest flare of hostile chakra, such as the nature of a jutsu during battle, every platoon of Konoha-nin within the vicinity wold be alerted. Two of them could flee before enemy nin could reach them. Two couldn't. And despite being known as the kindest of Villages, Konohagakure would slit their throats after pressing them for information, or in case one of them had a Kekkei Genkai, take him or her prisoner and force reproduction. That was the way things were. 

A new voice spoke up, one of the assassins; "Yagura's reign has already unnecessarily harvested the lives of many Academy brats, and let's not forget Kiri-nins' sanity, but if this continues, it'll lead to a massacre of all their Kekkei Genkai, which'll result in a civil war. It'll be the end of Kirigakure-" 

Sakura weighed her options. She could try to kill the loyalists, hope the assassins made it to Kiri and killed their batshit Mizukage, or let the present float on without her disruption. That would most likely mean Yagura could start his massacre and turn more (relatively) semi-innocent (by comparison) ninja into maniacs finding solace in bloodbaths. 

It was not really a choice. She had made friends with Kiri-nin during the Fourth Shinobi War, kunoichi and shinobi slowly opening up and telling her, in hushed whispers in the dark of the night, about the terrors lurking behind every corner, the failing economy, the disintegrating codes and rules, the ruins and deaths and lack of structure or compensation as time progressed and all got worse. More than that, it'd mean Tobito would leave Kiri, most likely, meaning the likeliness of Zetsu being on the island nation would drastically decrease. 

Her hand closed around two kunai, with almost shaking fingers pulling them out, took aim, and then- 

They gleamed as they sped through the night air. One of the loyalists died before he'd been able to even glimpse them, jugular slit deeply, falling into the sea with a sickening loll to his loosely attached head. The other managed to whip up a senbon in time to misdirect its course, having seen the slight, harsh shine in his peripheral vision, but by the time he'd turned his attention from a split-second of trying to find Sakura's position in the branches one of the assassins, the slender female with even less bust than Sakura had ever had, had stabbed in through the gut with a single thrust of her katana. 

The rosette Genin didn't hesitate. 

She fled back to camp. 

A good five minutes of jagging later, trying to make sense of what she had just done and something tingling in her veins, as though insects on a sugar high were coursing through her blood, she appeared back in the clearing, looking as unruffled as she could, years upon years of shinobi training form the future (past?) resurfacing for the pretense. 

"You were gone for long," Sasuke stated quietly, the smoldering embers of the fire reflecting in his eyes. One eyebrow was arched. 

"I went to the sea, needed some calm," she answered, faked a yawn, and smiled gently. "I think I can finally fall asleep now." 

She didn't. It wasn't until Sasuke woke Naruto for the watch with a tired but nagging "don't you dare fall asleep, dobe" that sleep finally caught up with her, lulling her into a dreamless sleep in which uncertainty ruled her realm. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. The ever-famous first C-rank. It could've been worse, I think. They could've died. Instead Sakura is saving lives, or at least trying to. I'm still in shock that I managed to pull myself together and update. I good kind of shock. I think I want to continue updating more regularly, but that's not too difficult.... whoops?


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